Run Like the Wind
by whataboutbob
Summary: Sunpaw of WindClan is looking forward to her warrior's ceremony. But things don't always work out as planned. She finds herself in a plot that puts everyting she's ever learned to the test.
1. The Wind

A few defiant stars remained perched in the ever-lightening sky on this cool morning. A fresh wind from the west wrestled with trees of pine and oak and disturbed the normally still surface of the lake. But on the grasslands, it blew to little effect. Tall grasses shook and whispered their discomfort. Despite this, the grassland slept with an unusual calm.

The sun was only just peeking over the horizon when Sunpaw woke. Her sandy brown ears flicked at the sound of her mentor yowling from outside the apprentice den.

"Up and out, Lazypaw, you're on dawn patrol!"

Sunpaw shifted her weight to her paws and slid away from her brother Fuzzypaw. He was well named, she thought for the hundredth time. Clumps of pale gray fur stick to Sunpaw's back where she had leaned on the great lump of her brother all night. He gave a mumble, stretched, and didn't move again. Sunpaw shook her head in amazement. She reasoned that all his fur covered his ears if even Owlclaw's shriek of a meow couldn't wake him. Sunpaw blinked and headed out to her mentor.

Owlclaw glared impatiently as she padded over, "What took you so long? I could have run to the lake and back before you came out!"

"Sorry, Owlclaw," Sunpaw mumbled to her paws. It was always easiest to go along with whatever Owlclaw said.

"No, you're not," he spat, "but you will be. We're on dawn patrol now. Let's move!"

Sunpaw followed him as he lumbered away, laughing to herself. Her mentor was all talk, but sometimes that could be frightening enough. Though today, it wasn't.

They joined up with the rest of the patrol: Honeydew, Robinwing, Swiftclaw, and Blackfox. Her eyes widened at Blackfox, the Clan's deputy. Sunpaw felt a sudden urge to be invisible.

At their arrival, Blackfox gave a nod and turned to leave. The rest of the patrol quickly followed suit. Sunpaw dashed forward to keep up. She had to impress Blackfox; it was almost time for her to be made a warrior. Encouraged by the thought, she sped up to a frolic.

When she caught up with everyone, Sunpaw murmured to Robinwing, "Where are we headed?"

"ThunderClan border," he meowed back. Robinwing had only recently been given his warrior name, so he was a lot friendlier than the other warriors. He was a brown tabby with muscles as prominent as those of a ThunderClan cat's. Unfortunately, his bulk slowed him down immensely.

Sunpaw, on the other hand, was slender and agile. Her sandy brown fur blended with the dry grass of the WindClan moors in Greenleaf. Her body was slim though her legs were long. This sometimes made her clumsy, but when running she was graceful as a swan.

The patrol of cats raced away from the camp. They wouldn't arrive at the river marking the border for a while, and they enjoyed the brisk run.

Robinwing struggled to keep up with the other patrol members, straining to push his legs to their speed. But Sunpaw was itching to go faster. She didn't dare go in front of Blackfox; it was her right as deputy to lead the patrol and set the pace. All the same, the call to speed up overtook the apprentice. Her eyes caught Owlclaw's, and they held an entire conversation with only their shared gaze.

Once Owlclaw understood her urge to go faster, he spoke a few words to the deputy. Blackfox smiled and mumbled to herself (Sunpaw thought she heard something about the energy of youth, but she couldn't be sure).

Then, the black cat spoke to Sunpaw, "Go on, young one. I'll even give you a head start."

Sunpaw only just stopped herself from stumbling.

_I can run!_

Her paws took off in a blur of brown fur. Momentum pulsed through her body with each fluid movement.

Blackfox's words came back to her in a flash.

_Head start? What?_

At that, a dark spot crept into Sunpaw's vision. Focusing, Sunpaw realized that the deputy was racing her.

Blackfox breathed in the clear air and hurled herself into the opposing wind. It had been a long time since she'd raced in the early morning sun. It'd been even longer since she had raced someone who loved to run as much as she. This apprentice was a true WindClan cat.

Blackfox thought all of this in an instant. She was fast. Very fast.

_Blackfox is fast!_

Sunpaw's lungs ached from effort, her lungs heaved, her ears pulsed with burning cold. But never once did she think to slow down. The wind taunted her, and the blur of black that made up Blackfox traveled further and further ahead. In other words, she couldn't stop it she wanted to. The fate of her ever being named a warrior depended on it.

But she didn't even want to stop, despite her exhaustion. Sunpaw felt the Wind. Not the wind that ruffled her pelt and danced in the grass. No, this Wind was the one WindClan was named for, despite what other Clans believed. This Wind had sung in the bones of WindClan cats for many generations past. It called to eagles and hares and horses. There is no way to descried it, no way to understand it. It simply is.

Sunpaw felt it now and soaked in its presence. She filled herself with its energy and burst with new speed.

Blackfox's paws hit the ground again and again, but Sunpaw continued to gain on her. The deputy felt the Wind as well, though the energy didn't fill her as it had with Sunpaw. Instead, she was aware of it, no more.

Trees stood ahead in the distance.

_A bit farther, just a little bit._

Sunpaw shot past the jet black she-cat just as they neared the forest. She slid to a stop near the river and gave a triumphant yowl. In a matter of moments, Blackfox slid to a stop beside her.

"Congratulations, Sunpaw," Blackfox meowed.

"You won't believe this!" Sunpaw yelped. The patrol had gone on with nothing of interest to report. By the time they returned, the cats in camp were up and moving.

"What?" Sunpaw's sister Mintpaw was always eager to listen.

"Come on, it was just dawn patrol, not a fighting patrol. If something interesting happened, I'll eat my tail," Fuzzypaw was more skeptical.

"Shut up and listen, Fuzzbrain," Mintpaw meowed playfully.

"Okay, so we were running over to ThunderClan," Sunpaw mewed, "and I wanted to go faster. So, Owlclaw starts talking to Blackfox and before I knew it, I was racing her! Racing Blackfox!" Sunpaw's enthusiasm exploded from her in waves, "And I won! Hey, maybe she'll make me a warrior!"

Mintpaw and Fuzzypaw passed each other a look. Silence ensued. Then, the two siblings simultaneously exploded with laughter. In Fuzzypaw's case, this sounded more like a series of snorts.

"What!" Sunpaw demanded.

"It's just – that's so – how the heck did you – come up with that!" Fuzzypaw burst out between snorts.

"She didn't make it up," Owlclaw's unexpected voice made all three of them jump, "and I've never been more proud."

Sunpaw sat up smugly as the other two apprentices gaped in shock.

Owlclaw chuckled, "I didn't expect Blackfox to race you like that; I just told her you wanted to go a bit faster. I guess she took it as a challenge. Well, get some fresh-kill, Sunpaw, you deserve it," with that, he padded away.

"Wow, that's amazing," Mintpaw meowed.

"I know!" yelped Sunpaw.

"But listen to what happened to me last night," Mintpaw meowed seriously. She was the medicine cat apprentice; last night was the half-moon, a time when the medicine cats from all four Clans meet at the Moonpool, "So we met up with the ThunderClan cats at the river. Jayfeather, that old grump, was –"

"Hey, did you know Jayfeather's the oldest cat in all of the Clans?" yowled Fuzzypaw, who had a bad habit of interrupting. The icy stares of his sisters silenced him.

"As I was saying," Mintpaw growled, "that old grump Jayfeather was lecturing Stripepaw on the difference between goldenrod and marigold. I guess he thought they were the same thing. But out of nowhere, Jayfeather just stops and his eyes get all glazed over. He starts coughing and collapses."

"He's not dead is he?" Fuzzypaw interrupted.

With a glare for her brother, Mintpaw continued, "No, he's not, but he's really sick. Greencough, I think."

"What happened after that? Did he still go to the Moonpool?" Sunpaw prompted.

"No, Stripepaw took him back to their camp. We kept going. Mossberry and Moonheart caught up to us along the way," Mossberry was RiverClan's medicine cat; Moonheart was ShadowClan's.

"So he might be dead, you don't really know," Fuzzypaw declared.

"Is that all you care about?" Mintpaw mumbled dryly.

Fuzzypaw shuffled his paws.

Suddenly, Whitefeather came bursting into the camp.

"Willowstar! RiverClan and ThunderClan scent on our territory," he yowled, "It heads straight through to the mountains. And it's fresh!"


	2. RinderClan

Willowstar rested in his den, mulling over the issues that faced his Clan.

_Leafbare has only just started, but prey is the scarcest it's ever been. No sicknesses have arisen yet. It's only a matter of time. _

_RiverClan patrols are more hostile than usual. They may be planning an attack. _

_And then the news about Jayfeather's condition at the meeting of medicine cats. A shame, he's been ThunderClan's medicine cat since before I was born. But that doesn't matter. It doesn't impact my Clan. All the same, it's terrible news. StarClan what's going on? Where has goodness hidden? _

_That's not true, goodness is not lost. My Clan thrives despite out need for prey. And three soon-to-be warriors. Yes, that's just the thing WindClan needs. The littermates Sunpaw and Fuzzypaw. And Smokepaw. They'll be fine warriors, each of them. I think I'll have a talk with their mentors; it's time we assessed the young cats' skills. _

An urgent voice cut through the tall grass bordering his rocky den, "Willowstar! RiverClan and ThunderClan scent on our territory. It heads straight through to the mountains. And it's fresh!"

Willowstar quickly stepped out into the clearing.

_No, please no. Hasn't enough gone wrong already? _

Refusing to show his despair, he shouted names of cats, "Blackfox, Littlebreeze, Robinwing, Sunpaw, come with me! Whitefeather lead us to it!" He added Sunpaw's name to the list at the last second, thinking it a good chance to test her abilities; it would have been better to include all three of the older apprentices, but having too many cats along would be counter-productive.

The cats he called gathered into a clump behind Whitefeather, who stood, tail erect, ready to lead the way. Willowstar gave a nod, and the herd of cats galloped up the hill.

Sunpaw raced next to Robinwing, the Wind pushed her from behind. She breathed in the crisp mid-morning air—yes, it was still that early in the day—and slipped in behind Littlebreeze. The ferocious wind slid easily past her sleek, light brown fur.

Whitefeather slowed to a stop and tasted the air. Sunpaw did the same and recognized two distinct scents: fishy RiverClan and musky ThunderClan. Her blood boiled with rage.

_They aren't allowed here! _

"The trail leads that way," Whitefeather gestured his tail to the mountains, "We followed them to the edge of the territory."

"We'll head there and then decide what to do," Willowstar calmly ordered, "Littlebreeze, keep checking the trail to see if any bit of it veers off." Littlebreeze was the best tracker in the Clan. He solemnly bowed his head in compliance.

They headed off, slower this time to allow Littlebreeze time to taste the air. Sunpaw devoted all her energy to keeping her eyelids open; it had been a long day and it wasn't even Sunhigh. Luckily for her, she was too concentrated to acknowledge her hunger.

Robinwing attempted to make conversation with the winded apprentice. He knew her well: she'd be her normal energetic self by the time they reached the edge of the territory. But she was stubborn in her focus.

"There's another scent!" Littlebreeze cried out. "Another ThunderClan, and a lot fresher."

Sunpaw let her mouth slide open. Sure enough, a murky ThunderClan scent flooded the area.

"Let's go, we should be able to catch up to the trespasser while they're still on our territory," Willowstar stated.

So Whitefeather kept a rigid pace, no time to taste the air and make sure they were still on track. They ran on pure instinct.

Just as they neared the Twolegplace, they spotted the cat they'd been tracking. Sunpaw immediately recognized him from past gatherings, but she was shocked all the same.

At the same time she placed a name to the cat, Robinwing murmured, "It's Jayfeather. I don't believe it, Jayfeather." Jayfeather, though blind, turned to face the oncoming patrol of cats.

"Has WindClan taken to interrupting the thoughts of blind, elderly cats," the medicine cat hissed, "or is there some other reason you're here?"

"_We're_ interrupting _you_? You're on _our_ territory!" Robinwing spat.

"Peace, Robinwing," meowed Willowstar laying a tail on the warrior's shoulder. He bowed his head to Jayfeather in respect for both his age and position. "We do not mean to bother you. I apologize for any nuisance we've caused."

"I expect it won't happen again," Jayfeather grumbled.

"It will not, I assure you. We were simply following some scents from RiverClan and ThunderClan. You wouldn't happen to know why such scents were on our territory?"

"No, no I don't know. I'll be on my way, now. Don't try to follow me," he added, voice dripping with suspicion, "I know you WindClan cats do strange things like that, and I won't tolerate it!"

"You have nothing to fear."

Jayfeather snorted unbelievingly and stalked away, tail in the air. He even looked over his shoulder to glare at them, though Sunpaw deducted he only did that in an attempt to scare them. As the sound of his paw steps faded in the direction of the mountains, the WindClan cats turned to face each other.

"What now?" Whitefeather mewed.

"We either keep following the trail or leave it to go stale," the leader meowed, "Blackfox, what would you suggest?"

The deputy's smooth voice carried across the hills, "We should go back to camp. The trail led off the territory; it's no longer our business. Patrols can check here regularly to see if the cats return. And we can mention it at the next Gathering if no further information comes up by then. But there is nothing left for us to do at this point."

Willowstar nodded consent, "Well spoken. Back to camp it is."

Sunpaw tore at the rabbit with ravenous hunger. She shared it with Robinwing, his thick pelt coating her sleek one. As they ate, Fuzzypaw pestered them with questions about their "quest" as he put it. Most of the words passed right over Sunpaw; she was too hungry to care. But Robinwing answered Fuzzypaw's questions to his satisfaction, so Sunpaw wouldn't have to spare a moment of eating to talk. As the remaining meat diminished, her belly gradually enlarged, and she started to listen to the conversation going on around her.

"You found Jayfeather? I thought he was sick!" Fuzzypaw's voice gave off a distinct squeak as it always did when he was excited.

"I thought so, too," Robinwing mumbled, half to himself.

"He was definitely hiding something," the tomcats glanced at her in surprise when Sunpaw finally spoke, "It was no coincidence him being there right where the RinderClan scent reached the edge of the territory. I even bet that his sickness somehow tied into it." The news of the trail of ThunderClan and RiverClan scent had spread across the Clan like wildfire. It had been gossiped about so much that it was soon decided that the-RiverClan-and-ThunderClan-scent was too long of a name, and born was the nickname RinderClan.

Fuzzypaw opened his jaws as if to say something, but was interrupted by the entrance of a group of cats into the clearing. Smokepaw and Pouncepaw, along with their mentors Duskwind and Honeydew, pawed their way into the clearing.

Smokepaw proudly carried a rabbit almost the size of the apprentice himself. One could hardly tell that moving lump was him: his chin was high enough that his face couldn't be seen and the rabbit masked his dark pelt. Poor Pouncepaw had become an apprentice less than a moon ago and had caught nothing, paws scraping the ground.

Willowstar (until recently, he had been talking with Graysong, the medicine cat) looked up at that moment and pride spread across his face. He broke off in his conversation, mid-sentence, and padded over to the group, Graysong watching him in amusement. The tip of his tail nudged Duskwind's shoulder, encouraging him to follow. The leader then went on to gather Owlclaw and Eaglefur (Fuzzypaw's mentor). The four cats filed into Willowstar's den.

Fuzzypaw, mouth still hanging open from when he was cut off earlier, began mewing almost too quickly to make out, "Didyouseethat? Didyouseethat! ! IknewitIknewitwasgonnabesoon! Whatdoyouthinkmynamesgonnabe? Somethingnoble! !"

"How about Fuzzinthebrain?" inquired Sunpaw sarcastically, though she was secretly just as ecstatic as he.

Fuzzypaw responded with nothing short of a glare.

Robinwing sympathized with the gray apprentice's enthusiasm, "I know it'll be a great name, Fuzzypaw. And, Sunpaw, yours will be, too."

The three friends continued to talk, but Fuzzypaw and Sunpaw were both eyeing the entrance to Willowstar's den when they thought the other two weren't looking.

At long last, the four cats emerged, each with an indecipherable gleam in their eye. They padded over to the three cats. Smokepaw—who had also been waiting for the cats to return from their meeting—joined them, sensing he would be needed; Robinwing mumbled an excuse about having to go hunting, and left the huddle of cats.

"We have agreed," began Willowstar, "that you three have accomplished much as apprentices, and it is time for your talents to be recognized. Tomorrow, you will have an assessment. If you pass, I'll make warriors out of each of you."

Even though it'd been what Sunpaw was expecting, she was still shocked. One glance at Fuzzypaw told her he felt the same way. Sunpaw barely restrained herself from performing a back flip, but she succumbed to the urge to jump.

"How about we go for some last minute hunting practice, then you can come back and get to sleep early?" Owlclaw suggested.

"That sounds great!" yelped Sunpaw. And it did. Sunpaw didn't think she'd ever felt happier in her whole life.

Sunpaw, Fuzzypaw, and Smokepaw all hesitated a second before going off to search for prey. Their mentors had left, or hidden, or did exactly what it was that they were supposed to do at this point of the assessment. Some unspoken tension, reluctance to start the test held them together.

"Well, this is it," meowed Sunpaw, "Now, we're off."

But still the apprentices didn't move. The moment dragged on until Fuzzypaw finally spoke up, "Come on, we've gotta start sometime. Might as well be now." And with that, he was off, not a glance back.

As if it was a signal, the two remaining apprentices twisted their bodies to head in opposite directions.

"Good luck to you," meowed Sunpaw.

"You might want to keep that luck," Smokepaw grumbled, "I won't be needing it. But I have a feeling you will."

And both apprentices ran off through the hills.

Sunpaw ran with everything she had down to the open moor. There were always more rabbits here, but they were faster, harder to catch. For some reason, this had never been an obstacle for Sunpaw.

She slowed her pace and scented the air. Not a rabbit around. Confused, she circled back and smelled again: none.

_There are always rabbits here! What's going on?_

Sunpaw kept running. Her mind jumped from the moor, accepting the fact that there were none around, and settled on the Twolegplace. The Twolegplace didn't have many rabbits, but was full of mice, which could feed her Clan just as easily.

She raced at a pace she had not before thought was possible. The Wind seemed to be stronger with her higher level of enthusiasm. It coursed through her veins and strummed a harsh heartbeat in her ears.

Before she knew it, the barn loomed up before her and neared with incredible speed.

Sunpaw skidded to a clumsy stop just before she reached it. She breathed in the sickening Twoleg air, hoping to find in it some trace of prey; if it were possible, Sunpaw would have crossed her fingers. The hoping paid off, and mouse scent washed over her taste-buds.

Within moments, she had the first mouse at her paws. Raising her head to taste the air once again, movement flickered in the corner of her vision.

Her reflexes worked magic as she twisted in what would have been a perfect dodge if not for the mouse at her paws that she tripped over. Before she knew what was going on, Sunpaw was on the ground, a heavy weight crushing her back.

"Why, 'ello there," crooned a voice, stressing the 'o' in hello, "What we 'ave 'ere?"

Sunpaw felt a dull pain at the back of her head, and then everything turned to darkness.


	3. Sunpaw's Plight

Dirt and stone walls enclosed a small area. On one end, a passage led down into darkness. The walls were laced with darkness, the only exception being a misshapen opening on the ceiling. Though it, the moon and stars glowed; they seemed knowing and sorrowful, as if they related to Sunpaw's plight.

Sunpaw took this in as she blinked drowsily awake from her unsatisfying slumber.

_Strange, I don't even remember falling asleep._

"Hey, I think she's waking up!"

Sunpaw, who had thought she was alone, jumped. The back of her neck stung with the movement. The pain cleared her head enough to remember what happened earlier that day.

_I was running. So fast. My warrior assessment. Couldn't find rabbits. So I kept going. Found mice. And then – _

_Ambushed._

Sunpaw leaped up with a hiss and faced three cats, teeth bared.

"Whoa, slow down there, sweetie, I'm not gonna hurt 'ya," spoke a she-cat with sleek grayish-blue fur.

The cat's lazy drawl of a voice and fishy scent could only mean one thing.

RiverClan.

"Get away from me," Sunpaw spat, "All of you."

The other two cats took a cautious step back, but the she-cat didn't even blink.

"Want to mess with me, do you?" hissed Sunpaw.

"Come now, dearie, hear me out before you go on a little rampage," the she-cat crooned, "You see, we're prisoners just as you are."

Sunpaw shifted on her paws but refused to let her guard down, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you poor sweetheart," mewed the she-cat, "My name is Rainpelt. I'm from RiverClan. This is Oaktail from ThunderClan and Raven of Morning Sky." Rainpelt gestured to the toms behind her.

"Do I look like I care?" Sunpaw grumbled, "Because I don't. I just want out of here."

"Well, that isn't going to happen any time soon. Not for any of us." It was one of the toms who spoke this time: Raven of Morning Sky. Underneath his brown tabby pelt, lean muscles rippled. His voice was smooth and clipped; not an accent Sunpaw knew. But his eyes caught her attention the most. They were mostly brown, but suppressed flecks of green pushed their way through the mud-like coating. These eyes held something indescribable. It was both joyful and solemn, hopeful and dispirited, beautiful and terrible. At the start of the conversation, his eyes were the shade of malachite, the brown fading to nonexistence. Now, brown took over until not a spark of green remained. The cat took on an angry yet sad demeanor with each word he uttered, and his eyes, which no words can do justice, turned to rest on the apprentice.

"Don't make this worse than it is already, Raven," mumbled the other tom, Oaktail.

"Make what worse? What's going on?" meowed Sunpaw, still wary.

Rainpelt shook her head, "Well, see all four of us here are prisoners. These cats, they ambushed us and pricked poison into the back of our necks so we went unconscious. Next thing we know, we end up here. Raven was here a long time before Oaktail and I; we've only been here since the last dawn. And now you're here. And we can't get out, not a one of us."

"Well, there's a tunnel right there, why can't you go down it?"

"Whoever it was that put us here, they've got a guard just sitting down there, waiting for us to even try to get out."

"Just one guard? There's four of us, we could take it."

"We would now, but they put stuff in that fresh-kill they give us. Makes us slow, sluggish. Can't fight worth a fish tail."

"But – why?"

"That's the problem: we don't know, dearie. But you get some rest now. Was a big day for you."

Sunpaw reluctantly admitted that she was tired. The moon pressed down on her, and the night formed into reality. Sunpaw curled into a ball on the cold floor, drifting to sleep.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Fuzzypaw howled. Mintpaw sat daintily next to him, speechless.

"She's just gone," Owlclaw stammered in reply. He, too, was shocked, "I was following her during the assessment, but she started running so fast. Tried to keep up. But I couldn't. I followed her scent, then it was just – gone."

"The scent? Scents don't just stop."

"But it did. I could smell her, perfectly fresh scent, too, and then I couldn't. Her trail stops. And she wasn't at the end of it."

"That's impossible."

"I know. But it's what happened. If I could have just kept up. . ."

"Please," Mintpaw spoke up for the first time. Her voice was low and soft, trembling with effort; her gaze, previously focused on some unseen image in the distance, slid onto Owlclaw, intense and unfaltering, a strange pair with her wavering voice. With a shallow breath, she added, "We have to help look for her. Please. I know there're patrols out looking for her, but we have to help. She's our sister."

Owlclaw bowed his head, "I know. That's why I came to tell you. Come, we'll search together."

"Thank you," Mintpaw replied. She said this not out of politeness nor courtesy, nor respect. She said this with meaning and thankfulness, for she did truly appreciate his understanding.

With that, the cats left the camp, not another word said between them.

Robinwing ran.

He ran with the speed that formerly evaded him. But he didn't think about this now. Only one repetitive thought flashed through his mind.

_Sunpaw._

And she was gone.

Panic and adrenaline stirred in the cat's strong muscles, surging him forward once again. His thoughts lost all complexity and meaning; they took on one simple direction.

_Find her._

Robinwing didn't know where he was going, but his paws certainly did. So he followed them, not that he had much choice in the matter. A dim sense of his surroundings breached Robinwing's thought barrier. Instantly, one scent focused his attention.

It was the scent of Sunpaw.

Robinwing ran on, now understanding where his feet were subconsciously taking him.

After her.

Then, he stopped. The trail went cold. In despair, he spun around, wild eyes searching the territory. Her scent stopped, and she was nowhere to be seen."

Frustrated, Robinwing yowled to the sky, "Sunpaw! Sunpaw, come back!" In a quieter tone, he added, "Sunpaw, I love you."

Blinking, Sunpaw woke to fresh sunlight flooding the tunnel. She stretched and stood on her paws. Raven and Rainpelt still lay sleeping on the rough floor. Oaktail, on the other hand, sat and stared out the gap in the roof to the sun resting overhead.

When Sunpaw approached, he shook his head as if waking up from a pleasant dream, and he passed her a sad smile. Then, the ThunderClan cat spoke, "How was the first night?"

Sunpaw blinked in surprise and confusion until she realized what Oaktail was talking about: her first night in captivity. "Could have been better, I suppose."

"Ah, yes, if only a bit of moss could be found. Would be such an improvement to this hard floor."

"You know," murmured Sunpaw, abruptly changing the subject, "I should be a warrior today and have stood vigil last night. It was during my assessment they attacked me."

"I'm terribly sorry – uh – what is your name? I can't recall you mentioning it last night."

"Sunpaw," the apprentice murmured with her mind only half on the conversation, for she was lamenting over her misfortune.

"Well, Sunpaw, I didn't know that. But don't let that depress you. Let it inspire you, motivate you. Then one day, you'll find yourself facing that same opportunity. And this time, you'll be more prepared and won't let it escape you again. Rainpelt and I –" Oaktail broke off as if unsure how to continue, "we were running away together."

"What? But that's against the warrior code!"

"I know. Both of us do. Regardless, we love each other, and we knew that we couldn't be together bound by the code of the Clans as we were. It would have been unfair to my Clan to continue living the lie of honoring the warrior code, when I wasn't worthy to be called a warrior. But Rainpelt understands. So we left to start a new life. We had almost succeeded . . . but a ways from the end of WindClan territory, approaching the mountains, where we were headed, we were attacked.

"There was no warning, not even a scent preceding their approach. Before I knew what was going on, I was pinned to the ground, Rainpelt as well. And then I saw it. One cat held her down while another cat came over, a sharp rock in his mouth. Then, he leaned over Rainpelt and pricked her in the back of the neck. It wasn't hard; it didn't even draw any blood, but she passed out instantly. I'll never forget that moment. I thought she was dead. Then the cat with the stone walked over to me, and I felt the stone sting my neck. The next thing I knew, I woke up here, next to Rainpelt and Raven."

"That's," Sunpaw stammered for a few seconds, unsure of how to respond, "that's terrible."

"Yes, it is, but now I know that if I ever get out of here, I will guard our freedom with my life. I won't let this happen again."

"Wait, you and Rainpelt . . . you must have been the ThunderClan and RiverClan scents that crossed over our territory!" Sunpaw realized.

"It's true, that is likely to be us."

"So, how did Raven get here?"

"I don't know. I don't even know how long he's been here. He doesn't talk about it."

"How long do you think he's been here?"

Oaktail hesitated, "You've seen that look in his eyes, correct? The despair? No cat could get that look if they'd been here a matter of sunrises. No, I have a feeling Raven's been here for a long time."

A clamorous shuffling interrupted Sunpaw's thoughts. She jerked her head to the source: the tunnel. Unknowingly, the she-cat caught her breath.

Out of the tunnel strode a cat, head and tail high, with black fur and white tail and paws. His green eyes bore no sympathy for the four prisoners, openly expressing his distaste. In the cat's mouth dangled a bloody rabbit, eyes open wide.

"Food, you vermin, likely you don't deserve a naught of it," mumbled the cat around the battered fresh-kill. He dropped the rabbit on the ground and left just as suddenly as he came, sweeping his tail with the turn.

Sunpaw was startled, but Oaktail only sighed and took a small portion for himself. The rabbit scent must have aroused the others, for they were up and lumbering over to the gory heap. Sunpaw quickly overcame her surprise and set herself to the remaining scraps.

Before she ate, however, she recognized the scent that wafted from the rabbit. It was the scent of open moors.

_Who do they think they are, taking WindClan rabbits? They'll regret it before I'm out of here._

Glowering at nothing in particular, the apprentice took a bite. The familiar taste flooded her senses, but something alien and sickly tasting crept in along with the savory mouthful.

_The poison Rainpelt mentioned must be in here!_

Sunpaw gagged and stepped away from the food.

"Now be a dear, don't go and starve yourself, eat up!" Rainpelt scolded her.

Raven seemed to know what Sunpaw was thinking, "You can't not eat anything to avoid the poison. Its effects will outlast you starving to death. Trust me, I've tried," he added, "They eventually forced rabbit down my throat, and I too weak and slow to stop it."

Sunpaw bowed her head, reluctant but convinced. She paced back to her unfinished section of rabbit and nibbled at an edge. Rainpelt kept a watchful eye on her until she was sure Sunpaw had swallowed every last bit of it.

The shuffling sounded again; this time, Sunpaw was prepared for the black and white cat that emerged from the tunnel.

"You," he claimed, as arrogant as the last time. With this word, his gaze turned to Sunpaw, "new cat, The Tunnelers wish to see you." He turned, swishing his tail, but didn't continue down the tunnel, clearly waiting for Sunpaw to follow.

Sunpaw's eyes widened, "What are The Tunnelers?"

Rainpelt's eyes glazed over with sympathy, "The two leaders of this place."

Jayfeather walked in absolute silence. He continued to follow Oaktail's scent trail, as he had been since he left the ThunderClan camp.

_Deserter, doesn't deserve to be found. But something's wrong here. I can't stop now._

Jayfeather had a queasy feeling that Oaktail's sudden leave of ThunderClan wasn't simple. Maybe it hadn't started that way, but he knew something was off. After a vision at the meeting of medicine cats, he had pretended to be sick to provide an excuse to head back to camp. His vision proved true when Oaktail was nowhere to be found. That's when Jayfeather followed his trail. At one point, it met up with another scent, RiverClan, and continued across WindClan territory.

If not for his uneasy feeling, Jayfeather would have stopped, acknowledging that Oaktail had deserted his Clan for a she-cat from RiverClan. But the feeling persisted, so Jayfeather continued across WindClan territory and now almost to the mountains.

Jayfeather continued to walk, pondering the state of his Clan at this very moment, while subconsciously following Oaktail's scent. Jayfeather had a tendency to wander off – never without a good reason, of course – so his Clan wouldn't be worried. Except Stripepaw. The medicine cat apprentice worried about most everything.

Suddenly, a change in Oaktail's trail caught Jayfeather's attention. It wasn't a change exactly. The trail simply ended. The ThunderClan cat perked his ears, lifted his nose, and opened his mouth, attempting to absorb as much of his surroundings as possible. His first instinct was correct, Oaktail's scent stopped.

_Interesting. Impossible, but interesting._

Jayfeather, on a sudden impulse, carried onward to the mountain.

Blackfox raced alongside Willowstar, anguish blooming in her mind.

_A new warrior was the one good thing happening to this Clan, but then she disappeared. Yes, Fuzzypaw and Smokepaw are still here, but they will insist on waiting for Sunpaw. Though what if she's never found again?_

A glance at Willowstar told her the leader was thinking similar thoughts.

The rest of the search parties scoured anyplace with Sunpaw's scent. Willowstar and Blackfox decided that the whole territory must be searched for clues, so they went the opposite direction: toward ThunderClan territory.

The two cats arrived at the river marking the border quickly. Without a word, they tasted the air, not expecting anything to stand out.

Blackfox padded far from Willowstar; he was out of sight. Her mouth hung open, and she immersed herself in the surrounding air. It was only this awareness that made her notice the sudden shift in scent. Some strong smell made its way into the environment. Blackfox recognized it as the smell of a cat. A cat she didn't know.

The deputy's fast reflexes were the only thing that kept her from being pinned down. With a twist, she spun from the oncoming flash of gray that seemed to come from nowhere, managing to land a kick on the opposing cat's side. Rolling, she straightened and faced the cat.

He was pale gray and covered in fluff, dark markings striping his back and tail. Blackfox hadn't seen the cat before, not even at Gatherings, nor did she recognize the scent.

She saw another cat, this one was black and sleek, in the distance who seemed to be carrying a rock in her mouth. The she-cat turned and ran, vanishing into the forest.

The pale gray cat used the distraction to his advantage, swiping at Blackfox. Her reflexes stepped in too late, and she rolled to the side, blood dripping down her cheek. She leaped into the air, twisting to confuse her opponent, and landed on the other side of the cat. Her paw snagged out and clasped the cat's back while her jaws found the tail. Yowling, he spun, but Blackfox stubbornly refused to let go. He rolled and bit, Blackfox attempting to roll with him as she held on, but unable to complete it, reluctantly released.

The two cats separated, pacing around each other, eyes unblinking.

Blackfox struck first leaping to the other cat's side, clawing as she went. He sidestepped easily. With sudden vehemence, he whirled, tackling Blackfox.

She knew that it would take speed to beat this cat; he would win on force alone. So, the deputy inhaled a shaky breath under the cat's overwhelming weight, and set to her plan.

The black cat wriggled to one side; the other cat shifted his weight accordingly. But Blackfox wasn't close to done. With his weight now off her leg, she kicked and rolled simultaneously, beating the heavy cat off of her. A final kick sealed the deal, claws extended, and he jumped away.

Both cats bled from multiple injuries, though both were stubborn, unwilling to give up this fight if it meant death. Before such a thing could happen though, Willowstar, who had heard the ruckus, dashed in and tackled the strange cat, teeth bared. Blackfox was relieved but remained tense. She joined her leader in holding the cat down until he gave up, realizing his odds for escaping now were next to zero.

"Well, well, well," Blackfox murmured half to herself, "what do we have here?"

"'ey, that's my line, nah, don' go a takin' it," the strange cat replied, a smug look on his face, despite his defeat.

Willowstar spat in his face and hissed, "Come with me, you're headed back to camp."


	4. The Tunnelers

Sunpaw padded behind the black and white cat. To any onlooker, she was defeated, completely obedient. But one who knew Sunpaw would not be deceived. Her tail dragged on the ground a bit too hopelessly, her ears sagged too helplessly. This pretense she took on to mask her true intentions of learning as much as she could. Green eyes scanned the tunnel they walked in, occasionally finding, and memorizing, the faces of cats meandering around. Sunpaw kept her head low but gaze swept around, absorbing every detail.

The cat leading her came to an abrupt stop as the tunnel forked off into two separate ways.

"Proceed," he sneered, gesturing with his tail to the left tunnel.

Sunpaw could feel his glare on her back as she headed cautiously down the tunnel. Soon it dipped, though, and his presence could no longer be felt.

The tunnel she walked down was no different than any of those she took getting here. It was wide enough for comfortable walking, and occasional gaps littered the ceiling, though they were always too small to fit through. It was by their light alone Sunpaw managed to walk.

As the apprentice continued on, the tunnel widened out, forming into a large cavern that all of WindClan could fit in. On the opposite end, two cats sat on beds of moss watching Sunpaw's approach.

The cat on the left had short, blue fur. He was large enough to be of RiverClan with a fierce gleam in his eye that the ThunderClan cats always seemed to have. The cat's tail tapped to an unheard rhythm, beating ferociously on the ground. His companion couldn't have been more different. Her pelt consisted of black, white, and red splotches, her eyes a sweet amber. She was small and thin, yet deadly so, as if her slightness was her greatest strength. The she-cat's eyes held not the ferocity as the other cat but a simple coolness, confidence. That, perhaps, may have been even more frightening.

Sunpaw reluctantly dipped her head as she got nearer, acknowledging it as the smartest course of action. With this, the she-cat's coolness transformed into smug satisfaction, and she spoke, "Come nearer, mah dear, what do be yer name?"

"Sunpaw," murmured the young cat.

The cat managed to look even more pleased. "That be good. You meh refer to us as The Tunnelers, no more. Clear?"

"Yes." It pained Sunpaw to be so obedient, but her only hope for gaining more knowledge was to be as compliant as possible, possibly even gaining access to secrets that would be otherwise unknown to her.

"You are of WindClan, yes?" asked the tom.

This question Sunpaw struggled to answer. This conversation wasn't going in a good direction, she could feel it. But, she figured they already knew the answer and were simply asking to test how she would respond. "Yes."

"Can you tell us the goings of this WindClan?"

"No." The response came out of habit, though it felt good to say. "No, I refuse to reveal WindClan secrets."

The Tunnelers didn't seem at all surprised. This was not the reaction she'd expected. "I see. Perhaps you do change your mind in days to come. Leave, now."

Sunpaw blinked. This was definitely not what she'd expected.

_So they don't care if I don't tell them anything?_

That question brought up others.

_Why do they want to know anything about WindClan at all? Are they planning an attack? Did they expect me to not give in? Did they ask Rainpelt or Oaktail about their Clans? And why would I change my mind?_

These questions kindled dread in her gut, dread that got worse with each step.

The black and white cat waited right where Sunpaw had left him just minutes ago. His smirk still remained plastered on his face, as if it had never left.

"That do 'ave been short. 'Ave ye not told them anythin'?" If it were possible, he sounded even more smug than he looked, oddly pleased that she'd come back so fast.

"No, no I have not," Sunpaw murmured. After hearing the cat's voice once again, she realized that there was a slight difference between the way he spoke and the way The Tunnelers spoke. Not much, but it was there.

"Weell, then, we'll a be headin' back, now," the irritating cat meowed, contempt dripping out his every word.

Sunpaw fell in step behind him, hardly noticing the paw steps she took as she pondered today's occurrences.

Jayfeather's tail swished in the tall-growing grass. A few minutes more would he rest and then continue his trek to the mountains. Time and time again in the past his questions led to the mountains; why should now be any different?

The medicine cat gave his legs a final stretch and followed his nose as it tracked the clear mountain air.

"Who are you?"

"Mess'nger from StarsClan," snickered the pale gray cat. Though he had been captured, never once did his confidence falter.

Willowstar rolled his eyes. His questioning of the cat was getting nowhere. He did learn a few things: the cat had some knowledge of the Clan's culture, he held all he knew of this in contempt, and he seemed to think himself highly skilled in doling out humor.

"Where are you from?"

"Mars," he claimed, still giggling foolishly.

Blackfox and Willowstar looked at each other. Neither of them knew what in the world a "Mars" was. It wasn't the first time the cat referenced to some mysterious object and then laughed hysterically when they appeared not to know what it was. In fact, it had been going on this way most of the day.

Neither deputy nor leader had any experience in this type of Clan service; it had never been necessary. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and both were willing to attempt the quizzing of the strange cat if it would help bring back their lost apprentice.

It was this moment when Robinwing, looking frazzled and out of breath, arrived at the camp and spotted the stranger. He gave them an uneasy glance, Blackfox noted, and began murmuring to his Clanmates about what was going on. At some point during Honeydew's explanation, Robinwing got a frenzied look in his eye and headed toward the threesome.

Blackfox stood ready, as a precaution. And she was smart to have done this. As soon as Robinwing arrived in hearing distance of the pale cat, he opened his jaws in a snarl and hurtled toward the stranger. The deputy had to hit him from the side to stop the cat from aggressively tackling the gray cat.

"Where is she, where's Sunpaw?" Robinwing growled, only holding off from attacking by his leader's hulking figure and piercing gaze, both of which told him to calm down.

"Weell not here, I do berlieve." Upon seeing Robinwing's face, the cat only laughed harder.

"It's your fault, I know it! Your fault she's gone!"

"Nah, I'm nah one much fer braggin', but I meh have taken part in et."

Robinwing growled and made an enthusiastic leap onto the cat, clawing harder than if his life depended on it. The combined forces of Willowstar and Blackfox were just enough to pull him off.

"That's enough, Robinwing," ordered Willowstar, a note of finality in his tone, as if he was just daring the warrior to object.

But Robinwing did not object, lowering his head and murmuring apologies. To his leader of course, not to the cat he attacked.

The pale gray cat didn't seem to mind the lack of apology. In fact, the injuries that now ran along his side seemed to amuse him even more than any of his previous remarks. He did not laugh but gazed contentedly, even haughtily, at Robinwing.

With a flick of his tail, the warrior turned away, head low. But softly, he brewed malicious thoughts.

_Just wait, and we'll see who looks so smug then. You'll see cat, you'll see._

"She should be back by now right? What did they want to ask her about? The poor dear, going all alone to meet The Tunnelers. She's probably frightened half to death!"

Raven of Morning Sky rested his head on his paws and tried to revert to sleep instead of listening to Rainpelt rant on and on. The cat had been going on like this for several minutes, without a breath. It was clear she had taken a liking to Sunpaw, even taking on the role as her mother. This was fine at first, but now her affection was simply intolerable.

But she had a point: Sunpaw had been gone a long time. Her conversation with The Tunnelers should only have been a few minutes (after having had multiple conversations with those two cats, he had learned they liked to keep things brief). Factor in the few minutes it would take to go down to the cavern and back, and she should have been back long ago. This Raven did not deem necessary to mention to Rainpelt. She had never spoken with The Tunnelers, so for all she knew Sunpaw could be talking with them all day. Besides, the ThunderClan cat would only worry. He knew Sunpaw would be alright. She was tough; he had seen it from the start. Even so …

_Hurry back, Sunpaw, hurry back._

Sunpaw was so busy in her thoughts, she didn't realize the black and white cat leading her had stopped, and she crashed right into him. The cat turned his head to give her a condescending glare and returned his gaze up front.

The apprentice flicked her ears in annoyance. It was only when she looked up that she realized that she was definitely not back to the other cats. Here smelled of a place few cats went past, into, or out of. It was humid and dark, darker than any of the other tunnels she'd entered. And then the worst part: in the middle of the room sat a black pit, tainting the soul that turns its attention to it. There was too little light to tell how far down the hole went, but she could see enough to tell that the sides were slick. It wouldn't be easy to get out of that thing.

"'Ere we are," the cat murmured.

"No, this isn't right. I was gonna go back with the other cats."

"You gon' go where The Tunnelers tell ye to go." Suddenly, he was behind Sunpaw, blocking the exit and nudging her into the hole.

Sunpaw struggled and fought at the cat she had grown to despise. It would have worked, too. But Sunpaw could feel the poison they had given her via rabbit drag her down, slow each movement as if she was immersed in water. Gradually, she was inched closer to the pit of darkness until she made a final slip and fell in. With a sickening thud, Sunpaw hit the ground.


	5. In the Name of Love

Sunpaw coiled her back legs, readying herself to spring. The fur on her back bunched up and shivered in anticipation. Her eyes glazed over in black as she focused her vision to the slight blur of light above her that she knew meant escape. Suddenly, the cat jumped, paws poised for a smooth landing. But her near perfect leap got her nowhere; Sunpaw hit the opposite wall once again.

Upon landing, Sunpaw slumped to her side, chin resting on the cold floor. The only bit of her that moved was her tail, endlessly twitching. It had happened this way too many times to count.

Sunpaw's thoughts trailed back to her home: WindClan. She thought of her littermates: Fuzzypaw and Mintpaw. A sudden longing to be back with them overtook the apprentice.

_Fuzzypaw. I would wake up in the morning and my fur would be coated with his grayish fluff from sleeping next to him. It was such a pain to lick it all off. I'd lick his hair off my fur for the rest of my life if I could see him right now. _

_Mintpaw. Maybe if she was here, we could escape. She always had a level head; she'd be able to find the way out of here._

More cats floated through her head: Owlclaw, Blackfox, Robinwing, Graysong, Pouncepaw, Willowstar, and even that awful Smokepaw. And two names also kept popping up, though no images came with it. The names were Sundrop and Bluewhisker, her father and mother. Sunpaw had been told stories of her parents since she was young, but they were never real. Mintpaw and Fuzzypaw were real. All the same, she couldn't help fantasizing of how she would go hunting with her mother and fight alongside her father, whom she is named after.

If only they could see her now, wallowing in self pity at the bottom of a pit. Sunpaw sighed. What could she do? Sunpaw knew her parents were watching her from their place in StarClan (if StarClan could even see inside a place as dismal as this), but she couldn't prove herself worthy to ever join them. She couldn't even get out of a ditch.

_Just one more try. I can make it this time._

Sunpaw pulled herself up and placed her paws tenderly on the ground. She shifted her muscles and leaped. After hitting the wall, the cat sprung back to her paws and carried out another attempt.

-._-._-._-._

Jayfeather knew the way to the mountains well despite his blindness; he had visited many times, always searching for answers he couldn't find elsewhere. In some ways the questions he had now were more pressing than any he had before, though in other ways he wondered why he bothered making the journey at all.

_Where is Oaktail? How did he manage to just…disappear? _

Why the mountains seemed to provide answers, the cat did not know, nor did he know why he could not simply accept the fact that he had deserted the Clan, end of story. But something pushed Jayfeather on, some unseen force guided him.

It wouldn't be long before he arrived. It wouldn't be long before his questions would be relieved.

-._-._-._-._

Robinwing waited until the stars flickered into abundant life, the sun had long passed over the sky, to act. Blackfox had made a mistake placing him to guard the nameless prisoner.

The camp was as still as it would ever be, and Robinwing dragged the grey cat to his paws, tail over his mouth to prevent him from waking up the camp. It did not take much to wake the prisoner and he was instantly recovered from sleep, smug and all.

Robinwing pulled the cat outside the camp where they could speak without awaking others. The prisoner didn't protest; in fact, he walked along quite agreeably all the while maintaining a knowing look in his eyes as if he had predicted Robinwing's plan. Once they were a safe distance away, Robinwing stopped.

"Where is she?"

"Immafray' I dunna what youm talkin' 'bout"

"Stop playing dumb, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Sunpaw! Where is she?"

The pale grey cat neither spoke nor wavered in his foolish grin which only infuriated the warrior even more. He raised his chin up so his eyes met the larger cat's gaze and passed him a condescending but even look. For being half of Robinwing's size, you had to admire his confidence.

In a flash of fury Robinwing struck out at the small cat, but he predicted this and ducked easily. In the same fluid movement, the grey cat backed off a few paw steps. Robinwing charged forward, leaping at his opponent who pulled off a casual sidestep.

They danced like this for a while: Robinwing pouncing and slashing; the grey cat backing away as if he had done so every day of his life. After a while, the larger warrior tired (he had been up all night guarding the prisoner), putting less effort into his lunges and making weaker leaps. The grey cat accordingly turned from defense to offense.

Robinwing beat at where his opponent stood moments ago with unsheathed claws. Suddenly, pain struck from behind. He turned to find the grey cat clawing at his back. The warrior whirled to knock to cat down only to find him paces away. Then the former prisoner lunged at Robinwing, using momentum to tackle him, only to back away and leap again. This went on for a few minutes. The pale grey cat leaped at Robinwing, backed off, and leaped once more just before his opponent recovered.

Robinwing was sick of the process but couldn't prevent another tackle. Instead, he reached his claws into the air when he sensed another pounce coming. They grey cat was already mid-bound when he saw the claws and could do nothing to stop his pelt from snagging onto them as he landed. Though Robinwing was underneath the other cat, he now had the advantage of claws and proceeded to sink them into flesh and twist. The other cat yelped in pain and attempted to snare the warrior in a trap of claws and teeth but had to turn awkwardly to do so. His attempt failed. Robinwing released his claws, flipped the cat over so he was now on top and bared his teeth.

"Where, cat?"

The grey cat's response was to spit in the warrior's face and squirm from his grip. Robinwing snarled and pounced at where his opponent rolled, but missed as the cat jerked to his paws. With a roar, the warrior lunged and pinned the smaller cat, ferocity increasing his speed. He hissed at his opponent.

"All, righ', all righ', you've got me," mumbled the grey cat, though regretfully, "What do ye want ter know again?"

But Robinwing persisted, slicing at the vulnerable belly of his foe. He spat, hissed, cursed. He lowered his jaw to tear at the cat's face while his back legs kicked and battered. So focused was the warrior on his victim that he failed to notice the cat's eyes as they gradually turned from smugness to uncertainty to horror as he realized what Robinwing meant to do. He also failed to notice when exactly it was that the light of life faded from those pale blue eyes. Perhaps it was as Robinwing's claws sliced at the other cat's paws rendering them useless, or when his back paws fully decapitated that pale grey tail, or perhaps it was that moment that Robinwing lowered his teeth to tear at the neck, not quitting that process until he heard multiple snaps. Even then he just moved on to the next bit of flesh he could mutilate.

It was a long night. Robinwing snapped out of his onslaught at dawn, when golden rays illuminated his handiwork. He angled his head, considering the job done. Finally, he spat on the bloody pulp that remained and trailed off onto the moor.

-._-._-._-._

Blackfox knew what she'd find even before she headed out on dawn patrol. It was no mistake her placing Robinwing to guard the prisoner, no coincidence. Complete calculation. That cat had caused too much suffering for her Clan to continue on, but she couldn't just kill him. It was just good fortune that Robinwing could.

-._-._-._-._

Raven of Morning Sky paced the small cave allotted to him and his two fellow prisoners. Rainpelt, too, paced, though she did so less strategically, bouncing off one way and turning a split second later only to turn back after a few moments of proceeding in that direction. Raven on the other hand had counted out the number of paw steps he took going one direction before turning precisely 180 degrees to continue the other way. The organization of the process was calming as if it was easier to sort out things in his head this way.

Oaktail was different from his two companions in the way that he sat perfectly still. It was simpler for him to think that way. He didn't have to use up some of his focus on movement.

Raven wished he could think so easily. Then his paws wouldn't be so weary from pacing endlessly throughout the night. Despite the fact that his amber paws felt as if they would fall off within moments, he went over what he knew once again.

_The black and white cat took Sunpaw away a yesterday. She should have been back quickly. She is still missing._

And that was it. It wasn't much, but it was all the three cats had.

A sudden raucous scuffle, resonated throughout the cave, and the three cats jerked their heads up in anticipation of Sunpaw coming back.

It wasn't Sunpaw.

It was the black and white cat, smug as ever, entering their prison.

"Where is she?" the three cats voiced at once.

The smug look twisted with contempt – not a pretty sight – and his voice was not better, "Ah, ye must mean tha' small yella ca' from the othe day."

Raven answered for the group, "Yes we mean her. What happened to her?"

The cat did not respond but his smugness got more and more evident until the point where Raven wanted to pummel the look right out of him. He tossed the three cats a scrawny rabbit and turned tail to leave.

Raven didn't know what had occurred until a bitter scent flooded his senses and he felt fuzz between his teeth. Looking around, he realized that in his determination for answers, he had grabbed the black and white cat's tail with his teeth, not allowing him to leave.

Part of him was proud of doing something to try to defy his captors for the first time for a long time. The other part of him was terrified. He knew what sort of punishments they could inflict. He instantly released the cat's tail.

The cat yowled in a pretense of agony. "Ye, dare, ye dare? How dare ye attack me? Come along nah, ye, come along! Imma speak te The Tunnelers about ye! How dare ye?"

The cat led Raven along down both narrow and wide tunnels, a route Raven knew to lead directly to The Tunnelers.

-._-._-._-._

Sunpaw had spent most of the night contemplating her situation and was now prepared with a solution. For while now she had been clawing at the edge of the pit that imprisoned her. At first, it had done no good, but now the effects of her efforts were starting to show.

What she had created was the beginnings of a tunnel. It wasn't much but who knew how long she'd be in here: she could end up finishing and using it if she stayed here long enough. And even if she didn't, she'd have the idea started for the next poor soul to be imprisoned here.

The hardest part was the hunger. Since she had been forced down this pit, not once had she been fed. Perhaps that was just part of the punishment. Sunpaw figured that this was for not revealing any secrets about WindClan, though she couldn't understand why The Tunnelers wanted to know them. But by her judgment, they'd ask again in a few days. After all, one of The Tunnelers had said, "Perhaps you do change your mind in days to come." That she supposed was a hint that this treatment would continue until she opened her mouth.

Not that she ever would. Or that there were many WindClan secrets to begin with. Few that the other Clans couldn't find out pretty easily.

The part that troubled her was that none of the other cats mentioned being questioned in this way. What was with the interest in WindClan?

With these recent thoughts, Sunpaw's claw marks slashed deeper through the hard-packed mixture of dirt and sand. She could make it out of here sooner than she thought…

-._-._-._-._

Jayfeather plodded along no faster or slower than he had been walking when a change in scent caused him to stop. His sense of smell was more refined than other cats, so thought he noticed this change, another probably wouldn't have. The change of scent was actually a new scent coming from…where? Definitely not the east or west. Or north. Or south. Well, maybe west. But why was it so hard to pinpoint this? It was as if the scent was appearing out of nowhere. And that wasn't possible.

Jayfeather stiffened. The scent was definitely cat. A strange cat scent, one he didn't recognize. And it was closer. Like right behind him kind of closer.

Suddenly the scent was overwhelming, and Jayfeather was tackled beneath a mass of fur. He felt a sudden prick near the back of his neck and went unconscious.


	6. Off the Edge of the Cliff

When Sunpaw had the idea of digging a tunnel to make her way out of her pit, her hopes were high that she would soon be free to return to WindClan…and then wage war on the awful Tunnelers upon whom she reasonably placed the blame for her capture. Now, though, her confidence had plummeted. Her tunnel was nowhere near how long it'd have to be to escape; her paws were sore and bloodied; a day had passed (Sunpaw guess it was about a day for she had no way to truly tell) but still no food had been given to her.

_What kind of punishment is this? I need food every once in a while! How do they even plan on getting me out of here? _

The last thought chilled her to the bone. _Maybe they don't. Maybe they plan on leaving me in here forever. _

But Sunpaw prided herself on her stubbornness and continued raking her claws at the dent of a tunnel in the wall.

As the apprentice worked, two cats approached the pit and sat at its edge gazing down at Sunpaw. From their point of view you couldn't see the tunnel she was beginning to make, just that she seemed to be stretching or sharpening her claws at the wall of her prison. Sunpaw felt their presence and looked up.

The Tunnelers leered down at her, blinking casually as if they weren't watching a cat they had imprisoned and starved but a kitten who was slightly amusing.

"Mornin', mah dear," drawled the female cat nonchalantly, "Pleasant sleep?"

"Oh yes, very," Sunpaw called back up, refusing to be angered by all these two cats have done to her.

"Good. We jus' came dawn here tu see how ye were doin'. I don' suppose ye'd like to talk with us 'bout an'thin' would ye?"

"Nothing, ma'am."

The she-cat's precious cool and controlled manner flashed with impatient frustration, but her words were just as even as ever, "All righ', then, have a nice day now."

The female Tunneler turned and stalked away. Well, Sunpaw assumed she did because she turned out of her field of vision and the quiet sound of pawsteps receded in the distance. The other Tunneler, the ferocious looking tomcat remained glaring down into the pit. He started to turn away, probably to follow what Sunpaw assumed was his mate, but Sunpaw saw a chance in talking to him. He did not have the cool demeanor that the other cat kept; he may reveal something and not even know it (probably why the she-cat was always the one who talked).

"Why do you want to know about WindClan?"

The tom whirled to sneer down into the ditch, "Like I'd tell you!"

Sunpaw blinked in surprise. The Tunneler did not have the lazy drawl of a voice as the other two cats she knew of in this place, the black and white guard and the cool she-cat, did. His voice was clipped and precise like…like…Raven. Raven of Morning Sky and his odd accent. She still didn't know where it was from. Suddenly, the apprentice realized that the angry cat was still glowering down at her.

"Why not? I promise I won't tell." Sunpaw tried to force her face into an innocent inquisitive look. "I can keep a secret."

"It's not just that," the tom laughed, "You're stupid. You wouldn't understand."

The she-cat's claws unsheathed, and Sunpaw grinded her teeth to prevent herself from hurling insults at the cat.

_Stupid. I'll show you who's stupid when I escape from here right from under your nose._

Externally, Sunpaw managed to maintain her innocent pretense. "Then it doesn't matter if I know. I'm sure that your mate there wouldn't mind if you relieve my curiosity. I'm just sitting down here with nothing to do." It disgusting being so polite, but it was her only plan with the exception of her failing attempt at a tunnel.

"She's not my mate!" the cat spat venomously. "We are partners, a team. Not mates!"

"Then tell me about your mate," Sunpaw goaded.

He responded with an embarrassed shrug. "I don't have one."

"No mate! Oh, you poor thing!"

"I have a hard time finding a cat to my…taste," the tom mumbled looking away.

"I understand," meowed Sunpaw, hoping it sounded sincere. Since she was an apprentice, having a mate wasn't something on her mind, so she wasn't sure what he was talking about. A cat to his taste? Was it really that hard? "But it must be hard considering there aren't many cats in this society of yours. Not that I've seen anyway."

"That's the genius of it. There're tons of cats living here, but we're beyond detection because we're underground. Of course, we have to go somewhere else when it rains which can be a pain, but when we come back the rain will have washed our scent aboveground away. These tunnels are spread throughout the entire territory of both the forest and mountain cats but none have discovered their full extent but us. Since there's so many of us, we spread out among the tunnels. You haven't seen many because there aren't many in this area, but we're still a very large group."

"Did you and your partner make the tunnels? Is that why you are called the Tunnelers?"

"We didn't make them, but we discovered them. Well some cats of your Clan and others have discovered some tunnels but not the entire network of them. These tunnels are ancient; they existed even before the tribes of cats in the mountains did. When I lived in the mountains, I heard a tale about an underground tunnel from a patrol of ThunderClan cats that had come to visit. It reminded me of a tunnel I had found in the mountains under a cluster of rocks. It lead to a small cave with four tunnels branching off of it. I explored them enough to realize that this wasn't an ordinary rabbit den. This was an entire labyrinth of tunnels that could go almost anywhere I wanted. When I heard about tunnels on Clan territory, it was too much of a coincidence to not be connected. When I left the mountains with Nala, it was the first thing we looked for."

"Nala? I thought you said you didn't have a mate."

"Nala is the name of my partner. We don't use our old names around our followers though. To them we are just the Tunnelers."

"What is your old name?"

"Cliff Hidden in Cold Fog. It is a tradition of mountain cats to name their kit after the first thing they see after giving birth."

"So how did you meet Nala?"

"She was a loner wandering our mountains. I was a Cave Guard so I was watching for any signs of trouble which is why I was the first to see her. We brought her back to our home behind the waterfall to give her some food and shelter which she clearly needed. I took pity on Nala and talked to her often. Turns out she lived with some Twolegs until they left and never came back. She'd been on her own since. I admired her determination and instinct to survive. We became close friends. Then the day came when she told me that she would be leaving. I was devastated. I cared about Nala more than any other cat which is why I told her that I'd leave with her. I told her about the tunnels and we agreed that we could live a good life there, once the Clan cats were gone. We'd be leaders; cats would unquestioningly obey our every word; they would worship us to no end. So I left the mountains and never looked back."

"Inspiring story." To be honest, Sunpaw was sickened. "Why do the Clan cats have to leave before your dream can come true?"

"They would never understand. They wouldn't want any other leaders on their territory. They would fight with us, try to chase us out of their territory as if it belonged to them more than it did any other cat. So we'll take them out before they even know we exist, starting with WindClan. But," he added, glancing down to Sunpaw, "it doesn't have to be that way. I thought no Clan cat would understand that Nala and I want to be leaders of our own cats. I thought the Clan leaders would order their cats to drive us out. But you Sunpaw, you're different. You listen to me. You understand. With you, we could convince the Clans that Nala and I mean harm."

Sunpaw was all of a sudden very uncomfortable with the way Cliff Hidden in Cold Fog was eyeing her. "What do you mean?"

"Come with me Sunpaw. Be with me. No one understands like you."

Sunpaw wanted recoil from the strange cat despite the fact that he was already far from her because of her position in the pit. "Does that mean you'll let me up?"

"Yes, we'll be the perfect team. Who needs Nala?"

_How can he grow so fond of me after having only talking to me once? And he did most of the talking. He must be sick in the head. Look how fast he ditched the idea of teaming with Nala now that he thinks he'll get further with me. _

"Okay," Sunpaw meowed. Never had she so desperately wanted a lie to be believed.

It worked.

Cliff lowered something down into the pit with his teeth. Sunpaw had no idea what it was, but she realized it provided holds on the sides of the walls that would allow her to climb up. As Sunpaw delicately picked her way up the makeshift ladder she realized two things: one that the things she was climbing on were actually thick vines and two that even though Cliff had let go of the vines with his teeth, Sunpaw was still securely on the wall. When Sunpaw was at last able to lift her chin up above the edge of the pit, Cliff took her neck gently in his teeth and hauled her up the rest of the way. Sunpaw noticed that the fabric of vines hung from the ceiling. Cliff pulled the ladder out of the pit using both claws and teeth until it rested in a filthy pile next to him. Then the tom turned to Sunpaw and looked at her fondly.

Sunpaw would have run, but Cliff's large body was blocking the exit, and she didn't think she was slight enough to make it past him.

"It's amazing. Finally having someone like you…with me," purred the large tom.

Sunpaw responded with a timid question. "You wouldn't happen to have any fresh kill would you?"

Cliff's face softened. "Of course, you haven't eaten in a day. Come this way, we have a fresh kill pile just like you Clan cats."

They proceeded from the cave into a maze of tunnels.

Sunpaw itched to run from the cat, but her common sense told her no. Though in a fair race, she could have easily outrun the tom, things weren't exactly fair in this situation. She was completely disoriented and would lose her way in the tunnels; Cliff knew the tunnels by heart. She was starving and still a bit sluggish from the drug given to her via WindClan rabbit the other day; Cliff was well fed and not drugged. If she ran and got caught, it would lose her the advantage of trust that Cliff seemed to have given her. It would also land her right back in the pit. So the apprentice did all she could do: sigh and follow her enemy.

"And this is the cave where we keep all our books. We learned Twoleg writing so we could get more knowledge on poisons which is what we use to take all our prisoners. I guess you know something of that." Sunpaw realized that Cliff was giving her a tour. She didn't understand a word he said though. What in the world were books and Twoleg writing? "And here's the cave with the fresh kill. Help yourself."

Sunpaw gladly snagged a fat rabbit, hardly caring that it smelled of open moor and WindClan. What surprised her though was the fact that there didn't seem to be poison in this rabbit.

_Of course, these aren't going to the prisoners, they're for Cliff and Nala's followers. Why would they be poisoned? _

Sunpaw finished the rabbit in a heartbeat and Cliff lead her off into the tunnels again. She was about to ask where they were going when the scent of other cats filled her nose.

Two cats she didn't recognize approached her and Cliff. The tom on the left appeared to be carrying a large bundle on his back while the one on the right carried a sharp rock in his mouth. The tip of the rock seemed to gleam green.

_" These cats, they ambushed us and pricked poison into the back of our necks so we went unconscious. Next thing we know, we end up here." _

The words rang in the back of Sunpaw's mind as something Rainpelt from RiverClan said to her when Sunpaw first became a prisoner of this odd society of cats.

_That rock must be what they use to prick cats' necks with poison. And that bundle on that one cat's back…that's another prisoner!_

The cat carrying the prisoner shrugged the unconscious cat off his back while his companion set down the poisoned rock. They bowed their heads to Cliff and wait for him to speak.

"Herbalist, Oppressor, who is this new prisoner?" inquired Cliff who had suddenly become booming with authority.

"We found 'im up by the mountains, Tunneler, sir," answered one of the cats, "He smells of ThunderClan."

"Secure him with the other prisoners." Cliff look down on his two followers as they lowered their chins in submission. One cat picked up the poisoned rock, the other took the scruff of the unconscious prisoner in his jaws and began to drag him in the opposite direction they came from; his partner followed close behind.

Cliff watched the cats until they were sight. Sunpaw did as well but not for the same reason. She was in a surprised shock for she had recognized that sleeping lump of fur now being dragged along through a maze of caves. That new prisoner found wandering near the mountains had been Jayfeather, medicine cat of ThunderClan.


	7. Passage of Blood

Rumblestar glanced at her Clan's dwindling fresh kill pile and firmly decided that she would not be eating today. Leaf-bare was tough this year so ThunderClan was starved enough without her taking an extra mouse or so. And to top it all off, Oaktail and Jayfeather disappeared without warning. Jayfeather's absence wasn't too out of the ordinary; ThunderClan's skilled medicine cat had a tendency to spontaneously meander on his own and not show up again for days. Of course, his apprentice Stripepaw never could handle it when Jayfeather took an unprompted leave. Stripepaw enjoyed consistency and order which unfortunately are things Jayfeather is not known for having. The ThunderClan leader made a mental note to visit Stripepaw to calm him down a bit.

But then there was Oaktail. When he was first discovered missing, Jayfeather had come back from a medicine cat meeting on the pretense of being sick. Then, the medicine cat had approached Rumblestar, claiming to have seen an omen from StarClan that said something had happened to Oaktail. Of course, when Rumblestar had tried to learn of Oaktail's whereabouts, no one knew. Here and now he was still missing. His scent simply hit the border with WindClan, and beyond that ThunderClan wasn't able to pursue him. Normally, Rumblestar would dismiss this as a deserter of the Clan, one who wished to find a mate in someone of a different Clan or follow there interests outside of Clan life. But this omen her medicine cat saw turned the situation around. Something else was going on. The only problem was what.

-._-._-._-._

Sunpaw was still recovering from her surprise when she heard Cliff's voice from beside her.

"All our teams that go out seeking information are made up of an Herbalist and either one or two Oppressors. Usually they try to learn all they can and then report back to us Tunnelers, but if they encounter any cat that's not a kittypet, they are to take them prisoner immediately. The Oppressor tackles the cat and holds them down while the Herbalist pricks the victim with a poison designed to make them unconscious."

Sunpaw shuddered at the horrifying process, but raised her voice to ask a question that had been burning in the back of her mind. "What about the Clans those cats leave behind? Surely they must track the scent of the missing cat and find you guys."

"Nope!" Cliff announced proudly, "Because after taking that cat prisoner, the team goes into a hidden tunnel and heads back here through the underground network. After vanishing into the tunnel, the cat's scent will seem to simply stop. And our cats aren't scented because they rub themselves with rabbit hide before they head out. It's a perfect system!"

It did sound pretty flawless to Sunpaw. Nala must be incredibly clever; the apprentice had a strange feeling Cliff wasn't bright enough to invent such thought-out plans. She gazed up to the roof of the tunnel to look longingly at the patch of sky shown through the hole in the ceiling. Sunpaw sighed.

-._-._-._-._

Raven of Morning Sky attempted to stare back at the Tunneler as she coolly considered him. The black and white cat had marched him down here, complaining to his leader while she listened without a word. Then, she had dismissed the annoying cat with about as much emotion as Raven had ever seen from her. In other words, none.

"You know of de consequences of what you have gone an a done?" The spotted she-cat finally spoke.

Raven raised his head. "Yes."

"So be it."

Raven took his leave. In his time here, he had gotten used to the short words passed between him and the Tunnelers and when they had decided their conversation was over and it was time for him to leave. The black and white cat met him at the top of the tunnel, his face the image of proud arrogance.

"Ye gone join yer friendy now, see?"

At that, the mountain born cat's ears perked up. "You mean Sunpaw?"

The other cat turned around, unnecessarily waving his tail as he did so, and started the trek up to Raven's punishment. Raven knew what was coming, he'd been to the ditch before. But Sunpaw was there already? Raven shook his head to clear his thoughts and followed his guide, wishing he had the same spirit that had enveloped him before to bite the aggravating cat's tail.

-._-._-._-._

"Mista Tunn'ler Mista Tunn'ler!"

Sunpaw turned her head to see a small black she-cat rushing towards her and Cliff. The cat skidded to a clumsy stop right in front of the two, bowing her head while doing so (an impressive feat to successfully pull off, I might add).

Cliff let his gaze linger down to the cat who was taking noisy breaths as if she had run long and hard to get here. "Java, where is your Tainted Stone?"

"Sir," began Java, "Ah had tuh leave et, sir. Had tuh git back as fast ez ah cud."

After a couple moment's thought, Sunpaw inferred the 'Tainted Stone' to be the rock that the Herbalists carried in their mouths to poison their victims.

"Why, Java? Where is the Oppressor you are partnered with?"

Java took a couple more deep breaths before speaking in a rushed, frantic tone. "They killed 'im, sir, they killed Slinky! Them WindyClan cats. Ah saw it with meh own eyes."

"Start from the beginning, Herbalist."

"Well, suh we had uh just came out of der Greystone Tunnel when we sees dis black she-cat. We follah our orders an' attack 'er, but she fight back. Some othe' cat comes up an' they tackle Slinky. I don' wanner get tackled, too. So I run. But ah keep an eye on dem and Slinky. They take 'im to der camp and dey ask 'im questions. After a while, they don' know what ter do and one cat kills 'im. An' I came back here fast ez I cud."

"You didn't do anything? When they captured the Oppressor, you didn't even try to set him free?"

One look at Cliff's face sent chills down Sunpaw's spine. He was glaring down at his follower, not even trying to suppress his rage and take on the cool demeanor of Nala. Sunpaw didn't really believe the story – there was no way anyone of WindClan killed this Slinky no matter how terrible he was because WindClan lived by the warrior code. Perhaps Java mistook the cat who killed Slinky, perhaps it was a rogue or cat from another Clan. But Cliff was taking the information very seriously.

"No, no ah suppose ah did not," murmured Java with an anxious look on her face.

"And you did not save him when he was about to be killed? You did not avenge his death?" Cliff's voice rose to a roar.

The black cat let out a squeak that was probably something along the lines of "No." She had slowly been lowering her head more and more with each booming word the Tunneler let loose, so now the fur on her chin gently brushed the ground.

"Coward Herbalist!" Cliff's voice probably would have seemed to make a mini earthquake if someone had been standing on the ground above his head. Before he even finished speaking, his claws flashed out and he sunk them down into the black cat's neck.

-._-._-._-._

Raven stopped for a moment in his march when he thought he heard a faint rumble in the distance. It was gone quickly, so Raven shrugged and kept moving. At last he reached the entrance to the cave which held the pit. But the black and white cat in front of him didn't proceed in. He just looked down into the dark hole whispering, "How? How cen et be?"

Raven saw his chance. He took advantage of the cat's shock to quickly swipe forward at his enemy's legs. The mountain cat did not stay to check his accuracy; he turned around as fast as his legs would let him. Which wasn't particularly fast considering he had been pent up in a small cave for quite a bit of time along with being poisoned, but it was fast enough. Raven listened for the sound of pawsteps pursuing him, but heard only a loud hissing of the words, "How dare ye?"

-._-._-._-._

Robinwing lumbered up and down hills, trampling bushes and long blades of grass as he went, for he failed to notice any obstacle in his way. His awkward stumbles forward brought him to the Twolegplace, the last place Sunpaw's scent was found, while his one track mind mumbled ceaselessly "Sunpaw, Sunpaw, Sunpaw." Sunpaw's scent no longer lingered on the terrain, but the warrior remembered where her scent stopped. No, Robinwing would never forget that place. It was stuck in his mind forever.

-._-._-._-._

Owlclaw looked down at the three apprentices' faces, wishing he could tell them better news. StarClan, he wished he could tell _himself_ better news.

"I'm sorry," the WindClan warrior started, "Sunpaw, my first and only apprentice, hasn't been found. We've looked everywhere we can. Now, all we can do is wait and hope she returns on her own."

Mintpaw and Fuzzypaw looked up at him crestfallen. The third apprentice, Smokepaw, had not grief on his face but determination. From what Owlclaw could remember, Sunpaw and Smokepaw were not close, in fact Smokepaw had rejected any form of kindness Sunpaw had given him, but Smokepaw was still a WindClan cat and he was just as motivated to find the lost apprentice as anyone.

"Sunpaw will come back," Smokepaw growled. "She's a WindClan cat, and she knows it. Nothing can separate her from her Clan for long."

Fuzzypaw looked at his fellow apprentice oddly, as if it was the last thing he expected the cat to say, and then he lifted his chin to agree. "Yeah! She'll be back!"

Mintpaw nodded but didn't make a sound.

"As for your warrior assessments, they went well," continued the warrior, "Your warrior ceremonies will be tomorr-"

"No! Sunpaw will be back soon!" The thick grey hair that ran down Fuzzypaw's back all stood up to complete a monstrous look to match the apprentice's face. "We can't just move on without her!"

Owlclaw didn't look surprised; in fact it was almost as if he predicted Fuzzypaw would say that, word for word. He gave the apprentices a knowing and somehow fond smile, turned, and left the camp.

"Hey! Get back here, I'm not done!" Fuzzypaw howled at the retreating warrior.

Mintpaw sighed. "Shut up, Fuzzball, he's not the one you're mad at."

Fuzzypaw hissed and swung his head in her direction. He didn't stop hissing until his eyes met hers upon which his head flopped down and his tail drooped. "Sorry, Mintpaw. I know." The three apprentices stood there awkwardly for many moments, each thinking their own thoughts.

Finally, Smokepaw spoke up. "Who are you mad at?"

Fuzzypaw lifted his head. "Huh?"

"You're not mad at Owlclaw, but you're clearly mad at someone. Who?"

Fuzzypaw twisted his ears around while thinking how to answer the question, a habit of his that he thought he had grown out of soon after he became an apprentice. "Sunpaw, I suppose. I mean, she had to go and get herself lost or whatever happened to her. Yeah, she'll come back, but why did she have to leave in the first place?"

"How about we find her and ask."

Mintpaw looked in surprise at the two toms. At Fuzzypaw for his unreasonable explanation for being mad at their sister and at Smokepaw for his even more unreasonable reply. "You're insane, how do you think we can even start to go about doing that? Our Clan has looked everywhere, there's no scents, no clues, not since that crazy prisoner we had and even that got us nowhere!"

"I don't know," the dark colored apprentice admitted, "but I do know it's worth a shot."

"Yeah, we have to try! Come on, Mintpaw, do it for Sunpaw." Fuzzypaw's voice rose to a squeaky shrill in the first sentence, but lowered (thankfully) on his second.

"We already did do it for Sunpaw. We searched everywhere. There's _nothing_ out there you two. Nothing. Not even her. Every night that's passed since she went missing, I've prayed to StarClan to look out for her and to send me a dream to help me find her. Do you know what they've said back?" Even though it was clear the question was rhetorical, the medicine cat apprentice turned her head back and forth between her two companions as if daring them to answer. Silence ensued. "Yeah, that's about all I heard. A big, fat load of nothing."

"Mintpaw-"

"No! You just don't get it do you? No matter what we do, no matter how much we search, we won't find a thing! It's hopeless!"

Once again, the three apprentices were quiet, deep in thought. Every once in a while, one of the toms would pause in their thoughts to look at Mintpaw timidly; she in return soundlessly hissed and shook her head.

"Sunpaw would have done it. She would do it for any of us." Fuzzypaw said this while looking straight at Mintpaw. He turned away from the group. After a couple pawsteps he looked over his shoulder to ask, "Coming, Smokepaw?"

"Of course," grunted the apprentice as he strode forward to join the determined ball of fluff. Mintpaw hesitated then followed along behind her companions. None of the three looked back as they took leave from their home.

-._-._-._-._

A fountain of blood spewed from the gash in Java's neck. Sunpaw watched in horror as the poor cat spasmed and tried to force out incoherent words through blood bubbling up at her mouth. Cliff actions were of a different sort; his face held a cruel smile as he gazed conceitedly on the cat upon whom he'd inflicted severe pain. Meanwhile, his claws kneaded at the ground, wanting more. Sunpaw flinched as Cliff struck at Java again and again. Finally, Sunpaw couldn't handle the scene of gore in front of her and shut her eyes. The apprentice wished she could also shut her ears to block out the pitiful gurgles Java made when she exhaled.

When the world turned quiet again, Sunpaw opened her eyes. Java was an unmoving, bloody heap on the ground. She quickly averted her gaze. Cliff was in front of her with his back turned. All she could see of him was his pelt of blue-grey fur expanding as he breathed in and shrinking back down to normal size as he let the air out.

_StarClan, he did this to his follower! First he turns on Nala, whom he has known for a long time to be with me whom he talked to for a matter of minutes; now he attacks his loyal follower because she did something he didn't agree with. What is wrong with him? _

Suddenly, Sunpaw realized something that she hadn't before.

_Nala and Java he betrayed with hardly a thought otherwise. How long until he turns his back on me?_

At that thought, Cliff turned around to face her. Sunpaw almost expected a sort of calm from his expression, maybe even regret, but that was nothing akin to what she saw. Cliff looked at her with hatred, baring his teeth with a crazed look in his eye.

_Shit. _

"You," the cat growled, "you said WindClan would listen to me. I thought that with your help they would bow before me. Then they go and kill one of my Oppressors! Explain that!"

"Well, I neve-"

"Silence!" Sunpaw had thought that Cliff had been loud when yelling at Java; now that opinion changed. The volume at which Cliff had been howling then was nothing compared to the roar it was now. "I trusted you, and you just go and stab me in the back, just like they all do! Cats like you should never have been born!"

_Shit. Shit. Shit. _

With a growl, Cliff raised up his claws and thrust them down to Sunpaw's face.


	8. Raven Takes Flight

Sunpaw's quick reflexes were the only thing that kept her alive as she sprung away from her opponent's swipe; had she been moments slower, those claws would have torn right through her neck as they had done to Java. She made a quick dash backwards to put some distance between them when she realized her movements were no longer sluggish. Between starving for a day and a half and eating a perfectly good, poison-free rabbit, the concoction used to make her slower had worn off. The apprentice smiled mischievously. The other cat didn't have a chance if she was back to full speed.

Cliff didn't seem to notice her fiendish delight. He only had one motive: kill. Nothing else registered in his raging mind. The irrational cat minimized the space between him and his rival with a powerful bound. He bared his teeth and sliced at the air where Sunpaw had been an instant ago.

Though he did not realize the fact until it was too late, Sunpaw was at Cliff's side tackling him over, claws flashing and teeth exposed. Once the other cat was on the ground, Sunpaw raked her claws down his flank repeatedly, backing away when he recovered for she knew he would be able to overpower her in a fight purely of strength. Cliff yowled and pounced again. Sunpaw responded by rolling her eyes: he would need to change his tactics if he expected to ever win. The apprentice leaped forward so she was behind the tomcat, who was still sailing through the air, and assaulted his exposed belly. After he landed, Cliff got up as if nothing had happened. He sprung at Sunpaw once again.

Sunpaw dodged the attack and clawed the cat again.

-._-._-._-._

Raven dashed aimlessly through the tunnels. Yes, he knew the paths to the Tunnelers' cave and the pit well, for he had traveled these routes many times, but never had he been brought up to the surface since his stay here. Basically, he had escaped but didn't know how to get out.

_I'm such an idiot. Think of a plan before you do stuff like this, Raven. Heck, why are you even doing this at all? You've tried and failed at this before, you know the consequences. So why?_

Puzzled by his own question, Raven of Morning Sky faltered a moment in his frantic running but swiftly recovered. He hurried on, eager to find an opening from the tunnels to the outside world. The cat's paws carried on hurtling past, uncomfortably weighed down by the poison. Just as his legs started to become sore, he noticed the tunnel starting to narrow and tilt upwards. This must be it.

With renewed energy, the tabby dashed forward and saw a light in the distance. Not one of the openings in the ceiling which let in sunlight but a light as if the tunnel were opening up to the outdoors. Within moments, Raven had reached it and howled in delight when he felt the sensation of grass under his feet and a blue sky overhead.

The cat gazed up at the sun, allowing it to warm him as he basked in its light. When at last he moved forward, there was a new spring in each pawstep. Raven's eyes glittered emerald green as he moved through bushes and trees, thinking about how he could finally go home. In fact, so excited was Raven that he failed to notice the odd swishing off the tall grass behind him and the subtle scent of cats approaching.

-._-._-._-._

Sunpaw dodged another swipe then turned to batter her opponent's belly. She should have been winning the fight; Cliff had not inflicted upon her a single wound. But somehow, she wasn't. No matter how many times she clawed and tore and bit, Cliff continued on with just as much energy as he had when he was unwounded. So despite all of Sunpaw's speed and strategic thinking, Cliff remained fighting passionately while the WindClan apprentice's weariness started to take over.

Cliff pounced eagerly towards his rival. Her paws instinctively skittered away, but this time the cat's claws got snagged on Sunpaw's pelt. She freed herself easily but not without a scratch, her first injury in the struggle.

Riled up, Sunpaw quickly dashed around to her opponent's side and bit and clawed with everything she had. Cliff was bleeding heavily on that side, but the light in his eyes did not falter. He snarled at the cat tearing at his pelt and twisted to confront her with jagged teeth. In her blind rage, Sunpaw failed to see the attack coming; Cliff gouged out a large chunk of her shoulder with no reservations. He then turned and kicked out with his back legs to further pummel the apprentice, but this time she managed to back out of the way before another blow struck her. As she did so, she winced at the damage on her shoulder. Maybe Cliff was immune to the pain of battle but Sunpaw sure wasn't.

As the fight continued on, Sunpaw attempted to keep up her perception and reaction time without much result. The injuries occupying her body started to build up until she was bleeding almost as much as Cliff. Of course, she had not the indifference to harm that the former mountain cat had. Her head was starting to feel clouded with dark spots wavering across her vision as the apprentice suffered from loss of blood. Suddenly, Sunpaw realized that her paws and legs had a light, tingly sensation tickling between her skin and fur as if she wasn't in complete control over her limbs. The dark spots in front of her eyes transformed into her entire field of vision with the occasional glimpse through the purple and black obscurity into the real world. She saw her paws still helplessly fighting (apparently out of instinct, she was no longer ordering them to do so) and Cliff snarling back at them (it would seem he was unaware that Sunpaw's wounds had caught up to her).

_Now what?_

The desperate thought rolled through the apprentice's brain moments before her limbs lost the ability to hold up her body and she collapsed on the floor unconscious.

-._-._-._-._

"We should check this way."

Mintpaw jumped as Smokepaw abruptly broke the silence that had engulfed them since they left the camp. She glanced over at her fellow apprentice to see his tail motioning in the direction of the mountains.

"No! She was last seen over there, that's where we should go!"

Fuzzypaw, of course, had to disagree. Mintpaw herself didn't really believe that they'd find any clues leading to Sunpaw's disappearance if all of WindClan had already failed to find any. Mintpaw was only there because her pestering brother Fuzzypaw had guilted her into coming. But the worst part about her coming along was not just because she didn't think they'd find anything. The worst part was that the confidence of the two toms was starting to rub off on her. It hurt, the tendrils of hope something growing inside of her as well. It was like she was wounded: she was fine if she just forgot about the pain, but dwelling on it was only worse.

"But I've got a feeling about the mountains."

"Why in StarClan would she be in the mountains?"

"I didn't say that's where she is, I just think it's a good place to look for clues."

"We can't go all the way to the mountains; our mentors will kill us when we get back!"

"They already will because we snuck off! What difference will being gone a little longer make?"

_Toms._ Mintpaw decided to speak up. "Let's just decide. It doesn't really matter."

The other two apprentices looked at her in bewilderment and continued in their argument.

"There aren't going to be any clues to follow in the mountains."

"Well all of WindClan has looked for clues back where she disappeared, and they didn't find anything."

"Will you two just hold it for a minute?" Mintpaw growled at her companions, "We have to go _somewhere_, but if we sit here arguing all day, we'll be just as close to finding Sunpaw as we were earlier."

Fuzzypaw shuffled his paws looking sheepish while Smokepaw gazed back at her evenly. Then they looked at each other with a challenge in their eye. Of course. The stubborn cats refused to be wrong.

"We're going to the Twolegplace where she disappeared," growled Fuzzypaw with finality. Smokepaw just nodded. Mintpaw rolled her eyes. About time.

-._-._-._-._

Rainpelt and Oaktail sat side by side, pelts just brushing against each other. Rainpelt couldn't suppress the anxious worrying that filled her heart for her two absent cellmates.

There was Sunpaw who was gone a while now. Rainpelt hadn't known her long for she had been summoned by the Tunnelers only a day after she had arrived, but something in the RiverClan cat that ached for her. She was so young, so eager to be free. It was just unfair for a cat like her to be locked up.

Then there was Raven, gone for a lot less time, but the situation was still worrisome. He had been dragged off to the Tunnelers after having attacked the guard. Raven had bit the cat's tail, something Rainpelt had been longing to do ever since she met the snooty cat. Rainpelt worried for her friend. What would the Tunnelers do to him?

To add on to her list of troubling occurrences, a new cat had arrived recently. The cat was still unconscious, undoubtedly from when he was first captured, but the RiverClan cat already recognized that musky scent and grayish-blue pelt. It was Jayfeather, ThunderClan's medicine cat, along with the oldest cat in the forest by a good many seasons. Rainpelt glanced over at her mate uneasily. He certainly had recognized Jayfeather, as the cat was part of his Clan, and Rainpelt would bet he had a lot of questions to ask about how he had gotten here.

_It's a puzzling mystery,_ Rainpelt thought,_ puzzling indeed._

-._-._-._-._

"Who are you, and what do you want?" asked a gruff voice.

Raven turned around to find five large cats in a semi-circle around him. Well, four large cats and one small one. The cat who had spoken, a muscular tabby, stared at him expectantly.

"Yeah, what are you doing on our territory?" It was the small cat who had talked. He squeaked out the words very proudly while attempting – and failing – at a growl.

A tom at one end of the semi-circle looked at the small cat. "Pipe down, Flickerpaw. This is not your time to speak."

_Flickerpaw. Sounds like a Clan name... _

"Excuse me, are you Clan cats?" Raven inquired of the group.

"Of course we are, and we-" Flickerpaw cut off at a glare from an older cat.

"Yes, we are," answered the apparent leader, also the one who had initially talked. "Once again, you are?"

"I'm Raven of Morning Sky." The cat made sure to dip his head and stretch his paw as is customary when greeting someone in the mountains, hoping they might recognize the gesture and believe him. "I'm from the Tribe of Rushing Water."

The other cat looked confused. "We haven't been in contact with the Tribe since Firestar was ThunderClan's leader. What are you doing here now?"

"Probably to spy on us," muttered Flickerpaw.

"I thought I made it clear that you should not talk." From what Raven had heard of Clan life from Rainpelt and Oaktail, it seemed that the cat who kept correcting Flickerpaw would be the mentor and Flickerpaw the apprentice.

"I was captured," Raven started. He had mentally debated whether to tell the truth or not, but he figured if they were Clan cats, they must be on his side. "by cats who call themselves the Tunnelers. They lead an organization that lives in a network of underground tunnels. I just escaped, but there are still prisoners being kept there. Clan cats."

"I think you need to speak to Rumblestar." The leader gestured with his tail for Raven to follow as the cat turned and disappeared into the underbrush. All of the other cats followed suit, except the apprentice, Flickerpaw.

"Are you _really_ from the mountains?" asked the apprentice, who had gone in an instant from "ferocious warrior" Flickerpaw thought he was to the picture of innocence he truly is.

"Well, yes, I was born and raised there."

"Whoa…" The younger cat looked up at Raven in awe.

_He's probably only heard of the Tribe of Rushing Water in stories from elders who heard it from the elders of their day. My Tribe must be a legend here like the forest cats are to the young ones back home._

Raven and his new admirer continued after the patrol of cats with Flickerpaw interrogating the other cat with an endless flurry of questions. Raven wasn't really listening, and after a while he realized that he didn't really have to. The apprentice rattled off question after question without waiting for an answer as if somehow realizing that his next question was much more important.

The cat was still rambling on when they arrived at the camp. It was ThunderClan's camp if Raven had understood the other cats correctly.

The patrol leader gestured for Raven to stay where he was as he made his way up to a small cave entrance and poked his head in. Some words were spoken, and then the cat was making his way back down to where Raven waited, followed immediately by a young looking, cream colored she-cat. The cats gathered around the camp were staring at him. One she-cat pulled her tail around two kits, presumably hers, as if expecting Raven to come over and slice them up for his next meal. A typical mother. The cream colored cat had made her way completely down the ledges from her cave and was now facing him preparing to speak.

"My deputy says you've taken quite the journey to get here."

"That I have," Raven calmly replied. The other cat, evidently the ThunderClan leader Rumblestar, tilted her head to the side as if to encourage him to elaborate. Raven gave in and began to speak. He started with his distant memories of living in the mountains and didn't leave anything out.

-._-._-._-._

Cliff let slip a low chuckle, your classic evil guy's reaction to a perfectly executed plan. He sauntered over to where Sunpaw's unconscious body lied. The chuckle raised in pitch until it was more a giggle than anything else.

The victorious cat's pale blue pelt rippled in excitement as he stood over his helpless victim. He raised a paw, extended his claws, and struck at the small cat's vulnerable back.


	9. When the Robin Falls

Mintpaw led the way to the Twolegplace. She ran forward, with enough speed to make any WindClan cat proud. Of course, Sunpaw was faster. She was the fastest of all.

_Shut up,_ the apprentice told herself. _Just stop thinking about her and you'll be fine. Lead with your head; that's the only way to find her._

But how could she stop thinking about her sister, missing for several days now, for whom they were currently searching for? It would be impossible to completely ignore any thoughts of her sister that cropped up in her head.

_Focus on the goal. Just focus and it'll turn out all right. We'll find her._

Paw thudded past weary paw. The rhythm of her bounds echoed in Mintpaw's dusty brown ears. Mintpaw centered her attention on the sound of her paws landing and leaping in an endless cycle. If she could listened carefully to it, she could hear in the steady noise a sound faintly reminiscent of her sister's name. Sunpaw. Sunpaw. Paws hit the grassy floor yet again and the sound came back. Sunpaw, Sunpaw, Sunpaw…

"Sunpaw! Sunpaw!"

Mintpaw's chin instantly jerked up. That was no pawstep. It wasn't Smokepaw or Fuzzypaw either. She squinted her amber eyes into the distance and saw a blur of a cat stumbling through the tall grass.

"Sunpaw!" The wind carried the distraught yowling back to Mintpaw and her companions. The cat who was calling stumbled on a piece of rubble but didn't seem to notice, for he continued to wander amidst the grass with glazed eyes. Neither did he notice the approach of the three apprentices; he just turned around to shout for Sunpaw in another direction then turned back again. The oddest thing was not this though, nor was it when the cat saw something in the distance, bounding that way with a joyous look, and then looking around frustrated as if he had lost whatever he had seen. No, the oddest thing about the cat was that as they neared, the three companions began to see a resemblance between the cat they saw before them and a cat they knew. It was faint, but somewhere beneath the hysterical meanderings and drastic emotional swings, there was a face that looked just like Robinwing, their friend and a WindClan warrior.

"Robinwing, over here!" Mintpaw called to her friend, a little ashamed. Now that she saw him, she realized that she hadn't seen the other cat for many days, but in all the excitement over Sunpaw's disappearance, no one had noticed him to be missing. A quick glance at the faces of the other two apprentices told her that they were thinking the same thing.

Robinwing didn't look up at her call. Fuzzypaw also shouted at him, but he only seemed to detect the three until they were almost right in front of him. The warrior looked up and mumbled under his breath a distressed, "Sunpaw."

Mintpaw was taken back by Robinwing's odd behavior. "Robinwing," she began, "what are you doing? Where have you been?"

The tom simply shook his head as if trying to shake a bug from his forehead and looked back down to the ground, murmuring incoherently. Fuzzypaw growled and marched right up to the cat. He crouched down so that he'd be in Robinwing's field of vision as he berated the warrior.

"Hey, we're talking to you, Mouse Brain!" The apprentice's unpleasant growling managed to catch Robinwing's attention. He stared right into Fuzzypaw's glare, and the apprentice directly saw for the first time Robinwing's eyes. If one had given their best attempt to try and bite Robinwing's eyes from their sockets, those eyes with all the bite-marks and blood would have been less horrid, less frightening than the ones Fuzzypaw saw now. It looked almost as if the eyes had been taken out, rolled in a mud puddle, dried up, tossed into a patch of blackberry bushes, and then placed back in Robinwing's head. In addition to this atrocity was the fact that his eyes seemed to have shrunk in size, resulting in them being sunk in bags of brown and purple furless skin. Fuzzypaw backed off, but the eyes, bloodshot and haunted, followed him.

"Sunpaw," Robinwing snarled to the apprentice. He matched each of Fuzzypaw's retreating steps with an even larger step forward of his own. "Sunpaw, Sunpaw, Sunpaw." He said the name with each threatening stride. Fuzzypaw continued to back off in both horror at what had happened to his friend and fear. What was the cat going to do?

Mintpaw tried to intervene. "Robinwing, what's going on?" she asked stepping between the two cats. And then the chilling gaze of the large tabby turned on her. She paced a few pawlengths backwards confused. "Robinwing, what–?"

"Sunpaw," he roared, interrupting her, "Sunpaw!" The cat shook his head again, fiercer this time, and his hungry claws pulled at clumps of soil in the ground.

"What happened to you?" started Mintpaw again.

"It's no use." Smokepaw came up alongside her. "Don't you see it, Robinwing's completely gone. Something in him cracked."

"Cracked? He looks whole to me." Mintpaw rolled her eyes at her brother's ignorant comment.

"What I mean to say," continued on Smokepaw, "is that Robinwing–"

"Sunpaw…"

"Robinwing isn't acting like he normally acts–"

"Well, we can _see _that."

"Yes, Fuzzypaw. What I'm saying is that I think that Robinwing couldn't deal with the loss of Sunpaw, and he's turned himself into a being devoted to nothing but finding her so that he can get her back."

Mintpaw looked back and forth from the Robinwing and Smokepaw. Robinwing, once a fierce warrior and even fiercer friend was now muttering in a zombie-like state. Smokepaw, the former loner who bitterly rejected friendship from the other apprentices, was now at her side looking on the warrior with both horror and pity. How quickly things can change.

"Sunpaw. Sunpaw." Robinwing was speaking in whispers now. Mintpaw's mind filled with pity for her friend.

"Hey, Robinwing." Mintpaw approached him cautiously. He was not completely lost. So long as Robinwing was alive, there would be some element of Robinwing's personality in him, right? She paced up to him slowly, so not to frighten him off, until she met him face to face. "Hey. What are you doing out here all alone? How about you come back to camp with us? Maybe Graysong could have a look at you." Encouraged by the fact that Robinwing didn't seem to be frightened off by her cooing words, Mintpaw continued. "Please, come with us. You're not doing yourself any good wandering around out here. You can get some fresh-kill back at the camp. You can sleep in warm bedding."

Mintpaw's words seemed to have an effect on Robinwing. Mostly because he had gone a minute or so without saying "Sunpaw" again, which was quite the feat considering he'd been saying it nonstop since the three apprentices had arrived. Not only that, but Robinwing's ghostly stare had lost some of its intense brutality.

"WindClan will welcome you home. We've been worried about you." Okay the last part was a lie; no one had noticed the warrior's disappearance, but Mintpaw would consider the lie justified if she managed to convince her sick friend to come home. "It'll be fine, Sunpaw will come back. We can look for her some other time."

If the warrior's eyes were bad before, then the way they looked now were beyond words. Robinwing's eyes before looked like he thought the world was going to end; his eyes now looked like he thought the world already had ended, and she was too oblivious to realize it. Looking into them made Mintpaw feel even crazier than the cat who stood before her. "Sunpaw," Robinwing wailed, as desperate as a creeping banshee.

"It'll be okay, Sunpaw will be fine–"

"Sunpaw!" Robinwing howled the name into Mintpaw's face accusingly. "Where is she? Sunpaw!"

Mintpaw backed away, but Robinwing kept pressing closer. "What have you done? Sunpaw? Sunpaw! Tell me!"

"Look, Robinwing, I didn't–"

"Lies! You did! You did! Sunpaw!" Robinwing called out the name like a war cry, and charged towards the three younger cats with claws extended.

-._-._-._-._

"Ah, Cliff, what have yer been a doing this time?" Though her voice was slathered with a fond, chastising tone, Nala's eyes were cold as tunnels she lived in. Her eyes of smooth amber twitched down to two bloody bodies lying at her partner's feet. Her gaze focused on one with sandy brown fur and a slight build. "That do be de WindClan prisoner, that right?"

"Yes, that's her. She tried to trick me," responded Cliff with unsatisfied fury.

"She-cats fer ya," said Nala, shaking her head, "You don' go a trustin' them too much. Not 'cept for meh."

"Yes, I know. But she got what she deserved."

"She dead?"

"Not yet."

"Well, nah, we can no have her dyin' on us. She do be ah only WindClan pris'ner."

"But she _deserves_ this. It's the way it has to be."

"I did nay say she didn' deserve it. I just a say we need 'er."

"Fine," grumbled Cliff, "Do what you want. But if she lives, don't forget that I'll always remember what she did to me." Cliff paused, coldness creeping through his chilling blue eyes. He continued, slowly for effect, "One day, I'll make her feel the pain that I felt." With this final statement, Cliff lumbered away, clearly discontented.

Not for the first time, Nala wished she hadn't brought Cliff along on her plans to take over the forest-dwelling cats. He was a nuisance in cases like these, where he lets his emotions control him. Though he had claimed that this Sunpaw was to blame, it was no doubt he who had made up a whole romance between himself and the poor cat, and then attacked her when his emotions ran wild again. Sometimes, Cliff's rash behavior was hard to tolerate. But, oh, was he worth it.

Nala was not weak, but her fighting ability was nothing compared to Cliff's. He was not only strong, but his immunity to physical pain came in handy as well. Of course, he would be a much more valuable asset if he was able to think above his emotions and fight strategically, but at the same time, she couldn't have him be too smart. Then it'd be tough to control him.

The slender cat approached Sunpaw's body who lied there unmoving but for the ragged motions of her chest rising up and sinking back down again. She examined the two most serious wounds: one a gouge in the cat's shoulder and the other where a section of her back had been torn to shreds. The cat would live, thank goodness. All she needed now was an Herbalist to heal her.

Nala clamped her jaws around the back of Sunpaw's neck and began to haul her down the tunnel to where the den of the Herbalists resided.

-._-._-._-._

Rumblestar examined her Clan's visitor Raven diligently as he told his story. Ones appearance told just as much, if not more, than what one was actually saying. It was a concept Rumblestar lived by: watching and listening is the best way to learn. This theory had never failed her. She didn't think it ever would.

ThunderClan's leader was beginning to realize something about Raven just by watching him. As he was telling his story, his eyes seemed to change color. The story had started out when he lived in the mountains as a to-be, blissful and ignorant to the difficulties of the world. His eyes were green then, like emerald, and clear as the sky on a hot summer day. The story transitioned into the appearance of a cat named Nala. She was a visitor in the mountains, a cat who had simply gotten lost on her way. Yet she stayed, and she made friends with Cliff, another mountain cat. Here, Raven's eyes grew darker, prophetic of dark days to come. It was like some was scattering dirt into a pool of water: at first all you see is a ripple across the surface but then you the murkiness underneath is revealed.

"Then it happened," Raven said, his eyes getting even murkier until the pool of his eyes was nothing more than a mud hole, "It happened while I was out hunting with my two sisters: Shimmer of Melting Ice, a prey-hunter, and Moss on Falling Rock, a cave-guard. We came back to find blood everywhere. At first it was just a few bloodstained rocks, then a trail of bloody pawprints that lead to the dead body of Mouse that Hides from Raindrops. His eyes were open, but he wasn't moving, wasn't breathing. And across his back there was a long, deep gash from which blood had apparently erupted, for there was dark stains all around. We kept going, finding more blood, more lifeless bodies. When we came to the waterfall, the water was no longer cool and clear, but red and warm, falling endlessly. We went into the cave and found the floor littered with the bodies of dead cats. Cats I knew, hunted with, shared prey with. All gone.

"But in the center of all that destruction, there stood two cats. Nala and Cliff. Cliff was covered in blood, but was standing up perfectly straight. Perhaps he did not feel the pain of his injuries, or perhaps he simply had no injuries and the blood was solely the blood of others, we could not tell. Nala with her eyes of amber and coat splotched with rich color somehow had not a touch of blood on her. She was overlooking the scene. But the way she was looking at it was nothing like the horror felt by me and my companions, it was cold, heartless satisfaction."

Rumblestar shuddered inwardly. His eyes were fully brown now, not a single shallow hint of green to be spotted. Raven's gaze didn't bore into her though, like the eyes of some cats tried to do, it was more like his eyes were a wall, a shield that nothing and no one could pass through.

"And we were shocked. We just stood there, not saying anything. We couldn't move; we couldn't breath; we couldn't think. Nala and Cliff start to talk, but none of us are able to take in the sound. All I remember is Cliff coming at us, and then darkness. When I wake up, I'm in a cave, all alone."

"That's awful," murmured Rumblestar looking into Raven's eyes which were now almost black.

"Yes. Yes, I know. And the story doesn't get much better," growled the darkly colored cat. "I endured many seasons there in that prison. Seasons that I'd rather not remember. A few sunrises ago, though, something changed. Two cats were put into my prison cell with me. They were Rainpelt from RiverClan and Oaktail from ThunderClan."

A curious murmur erupted from the crowd. You easily hear the poorly suppressed whispers of "Oaktail," and "I knew he was with that Rainpelt cat," and "We have to find him," and "What about Jayfeather?"

"Soon after, we were joined by Sunpaw of WindClan. She was called to see Cliff and Nala but didn't come back. I managed to escape, and the tunnel led me here."

"Is that all?" inquired the ThunderClan leader.

"That is all."

"Quite the tale," muttered Rumblestar, looking at Raven's eyes yet again. To her surprise, some green had returned to them, and the brown that remained didn't look as imposing as it had before. "The mountain cats. They are all…dead?"

"All except for me. And possibly Shimmer and Moss. I'm not sure what happened to them."

"A shame. You mountain cats are a legend to us. But we must address the fact that these 'Tunnelers' as they call themselves are keeping Clan cats hostage, most specifically Oaktail." Her voice rose. This time she was speaking to the whole Clan, not just Raven. "We will show these cats what happens when you mess with ThunderClan. They will be sorry for taking our cats!"

Yowls of fury rose out from the gathered cats, apprentices and elders alike. Even a kit, though his mother had tried to hold him back, was screeching ecstatically. "ThunderClan," he squeaked, "ThunderClan!"


	10. Lies

In the ears of one cat, colored with all the glory of a starless night, rang a joyous noise, like when one walks into a large, empty room and gives a shout and hears their voice for moments after, pulsing between the walls. But unlike the echo of a yell, this noise carried on and refused to dwindle. Instead of one person shouting in that empty room, it was like a whole choir singing with all their souls to the same glorious song.

"ThunderClan! ThunderClan!"

Could there in that moment have been any sound more satisfying than the one Raven heard just then? Could the cats have chanted anything that sounded sweeter than this? Raven did not believe such a thing possible.

After so many seasons, it was finally coming to an end. Raven had escaped and was now surrounded by cats who were hopeful that they could take down the Tunnelers. Not just hopeful. Confident. They were ThunderClan; nothing messed with them. Raven was very pleased that his escape tunnel had led him here of all places.

"ThunderClan! ThunderClan!"

Such a sweet sound…

Rumblestar did not join in the cry, but she watched as her Clan got riled up. All the cats were standing up, a few younger ones on their two hind legs, screeching and yowling with every inch of their body. It was no surprise that Lilykit, who had started the shrieking, was leaping among the paws of her elders, egging on their vicious enthusiasm.

At long last, the leader decided that her Clan had shouted enough. "Silence, ThunderClan," she stated calmly, but firmly. It took only seconds for an anxious quiet to fall amongst the hot breaths of eager cats. "You all know Oaktail. He's a great warrior. But on this day, we have discovered that he has been taken from us by these 'Tunnelers.' This is not the fate a ThunderClan warrior should have! He should be the one fighting for his Clan; he should be the one protecting his Clanmates. But instead he has been captured. We must fight. Not _for_ him but in place of him. We must do the duty that Oaktail would do in a heartbeat! When one of us goes down, we must all stand up to take his place! Fight for your Clanmates! Fight for your Clan!"

Lilykit began the chant again, soon followed by her Clanmates. "ThunderClan! ThunderClan! ThunderClan!"

-._-._-._-._

"Robinwing, I promise we didn't do anything to Sunpaw," Mintpaw objected, backing away again from the warrior's treacherous swipe, "We're looking for her just like you!"

"Lies!" responded Robinwing venomously. He struck again, trying to land his claws onto his target only to find her a few hair-lengths away. No, she hadn't the speed to match her sister, but Mintpaw was quick on her paws. Her main difficulty here was that she refused to fight Robinwing. He was still her friend despite his recent…developments. There was nothing in the world that could make her want to hurt him. Unfortunately, the feeling wasn't mutual. 

"Don't hurt my sister!" spat Fuzzypaw. He snarled and leaped beside Mintpaw. Fuzzypaw could be a mousebrain sometimes, but no one questioned his courage. "What's wrong with you, Robinwing? I thought you were a great WindClan warrior; I looked up to you! But now you're…I don't know what you are, but I sure don't like it!"

Crazed eyes turned on the apprentice. In response, Fuzzypaw fluffed out his fur so each individual hair stood on end, making him look like a porcupine with slightly smaller porcupines stuck at the end of its quills. Mintpaw couldn't decide if the image was intimidating or simply comical.

Smokepaw stepped up and took the place at Mintpaw's right side. The three cats scrutinized Robinwing intently with anger, confusion, and pity.

Refusing to acknowledge the half-dozen feline eyes trained on him, Robinwing took a few more steps forward, perhaps to threaten the onlookers, but did not attack. "You will tell me what you did to her. Tell me now, or I'll rip your hearts out."

"Robinwing, please –"

"If you won't tell me, then don't talk!"

"There's nothing to tell, Robinwing. Seriously, we wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

"I thought I told you not to talk!" Robinwing pounced forward at Fuzzypaw, the cat who had most recently spoken, teeth bared with fury.

Fuzzypaw did not hesitate. Hesitation was not something the apprentice understood. He quickly dodged to the side, and turned with surprising grace to tackle Robinwing. Robinwing struggled underneath him before slipping out of Fuzzypaw's grip.

Fuzzypaw lunged for the other cat before he could regain his composure, but it was too late; Robinwing was back on his paws and ready for the oncoming assault. When the grey cat leaped, the warrior expertly dashed underneath him and powerfully stood up on his hind legs, flinging Fuzzypaw into the air. He landed on the ground with a horrid thud.

It took many anxious moments for the apprentice to stand up again.

"Do still not have anything to say about Sunpaw?"

"Back off, Robinwing," growled a bristling Smokepaw, "We've told you: we've done nothing to her."

For a split second, Robinwing looked surprised. He seemed to have forgotten that there was anyone else there other than Fuzzypaw. Before Smokepaw even registered that the surprise was there, it was gone quick as it came.

"Lies!" howled the furious cat, gaze turning to Smokepaw, "Lies! Lies! Lies!"

Smokepaw did not back down but tried to calm the warrior with soothing words and a hushing purr.

But it was no use. Robinwing was past the point of no return, as the apprentices would realize from what happened in the next moment. For it was in that next moment that Robinwing chose to whip out his claws and slash them at Smokepaw. It happened in slow motion for Fuzzypaw and Mintpaw, looking on. Crushing claws first made contact with the apprentice's ear, tearing the soft skin completely off the scalp. The paw traveled downward by pure momentum to penetrate a smoky-colored left eye. Long gashes appeared diagonally down the cats face, tracks left behind by Robinwing's claws, and finally they hit a dangerous point. A lethal point.

Robinwing's face expressed nothing but sheer rage as his claws tore through his former friend's throat as easily as scissors would tear through a butterfly's wing.

Smokepaw didn't even have time to realize what happened. He just dropped, paws underneath him collapsing effortlessly. The life in his remaining eye was gone before he even hit the ground.

Mintpaw heard nothing but the sound of her companion's body bumping onto the grass. She didn't hear Fuzzypaw as he screeched Smokepaw's name in horror, or the hissing wind ruffling a smoky-grey pelt, or even her heartbeat pulsing through her ears that some people claimed to hear at such moments. It was just silence. And then the thud. Smokepaw had fallen.

Fuzzypaw, on the other hand, heard everything, most especially his racing heart pounding inside his head. His eyes widened at his collapsed friend; he heard shrieking and didn't realize until much later that it was him. But most of all, he heard Robinwing's voice as it expressed frosty distaste.

"I'll be back in three sunrises," said the cold voice, "I expect you two will have changed your minds on what to tell me by then."

Fuzzypaw didn't notice Robinwing leave. He was overlooking Smokepaw's corpse with unbelieving eyes.

-._-._-._-._

Sunpaw woke with a start. She gazed around, experiencing severe déjà vu as she did so. _Waking up, confused, in a cave, not sure how I got to sleep…that sure sounds familiar. _

"'Ello, dear. Sweet dreams ye had?"

The apprentice jerked herself fully awake. A friendlier party had welcomed her the last time this had happened.

It was Nala's coldly mocking eyes that leered down at her this time, instead of Rainpelt's sympathetic blue ones.

Fear trickled down the sandy brown fur on Sunpaw's back. The cat clenched her muscles, trying to stand, but found herself too weakened and too pained to even sit up. _Why am I injured?_ All at once, Sunpaw was overwhelmed with the memories of what had recently occurred.

"Why?" the apprentice inquired, locking her gaze into Nala's. "Why is Cliff so invincible?"

"Well, mah dear," the cat started. Sunpaw cringed at being called "my dear" by such a horrid character. "I always had been uh thinking that it was cuz he got too much emotional pain. Makes up for it by not feelin' the phys'cal. Unlike you, mah dear," Nala added, smiling coldly, "Yeh got yurself hurt up real bad."

Sunpaw noticed for the first time a small tom alongside her treating her wounds. "Why are you helping me?"

"Can nay have ye dyin' on me, cen I?"

"Why not?"

"Cuz you, mah dear," whispered the cat, leaning her head in close so Sunpaw could feel the hot breath tickle the tips of her whiskers. "Are gonna help meh get what ah want, ye see?"

"What is it you want?" asked Sunpaw, the gripping fear in her blood no longer direct but anxious in anticipation of something horrid for the future.

"Ah want what you cats call the Moonpool. An' if yuh don' tell meh what ah wanner hear, Imma let Cliff at yeh. Unnerstan'?"

"Why do you want the Moonpool?"

"None yer bizzy-niss."

Sunpaw mentally sighed. Cliff was much easier to get information out of. Then again, Cliff was also far more likely to go on a violent rampage. She decided to take her chances with Nala. "How am I supposed to help you get the Moonpool?"

"You gon' help me inferltrate deh WindyClan. Tha's all yeh need teh know."

-._-._-._-._

"Serves you right, chasing off with some RiverClan cat then getting snatched up. You call yourself a ThunderClan cat?"

Though Oaktail did not regret running off with Rainpelt so long ago – or what felt like so long ago – he did wish that Jayfeather would stop pestering him about it.

"And what about you?" asked Rainpelt, shocked at the medicine cat's vicious tongue, "How is it any less stupid for you to go looking for us?"

"For one, it's not against the warrior code. Two, it doesn't involve betraying my Clan."

"I didn't betray my Clan," meowed Oaktail, a bit exasperated for he had repeated this argument quite a few times, "The worse betrayal would have been if I had stayed but still been in love with Rainpelt."

"Better if you'd never fallen in love with her at all."

Neither cat deigned to reply. Their respect for Jayfeather as a blind, elderly medicine cat was all that was holding them back from unleashing a torrent of howls and insults at him.

"Well, even if you two aren't going to do anything about our situation, I will." Jayfeather strode over to a tunnel, the one exit from the cave guarded at the bottom by one of the Tunnelers' cats.

"Wait!" Oaktail started, but it was too late. Jayfeather had vanished down the tunnel. He exchanged a quick glance with his mate and hurried after him, Rainpelt a pawstep behind.

When the two cats emerged at the end of the tunnel they didn't see Jayfeather yelling at the guard, or fighting the guard, or being dragged away by the infuriated guard. In fact they didn't see a guard at all. They saw a perfectly unruffled medicine cat sitting right where the guard should have sat with a triumphant look on his face.

"And you two said escape is impossible! Where's that guard you were talking about? He coming around any time soon?"

Oaktail and Rainpelt looked at each other surprised and partly embarrassed at being shown up by the cat whom they had momentarily thought was senile.

"Come along, young'uns," yowled Jayfeather slightly overcoming his smugness, "I may be old, but I can still lead the way!"

Rainpelt and Oaktail could do nothing but follow the blind cat.

-._-._-._-._

The black and white cat – Colonel Mustard was the name given to him by his former housefolk, though he had long since gone by simply Colonel – limped back to the prisoners' cave.

That awful mountain cat, attacking him then running while he was down. He would pay. Someday.

He had tried reporting the incident to the Tunnelers, but neither of them were in their usual cave. He'd tell them later; now there were prisoners to check up on. Naturally, they'd had no guard since he left, but it's not like they knew that. They'd still be there when he got back.

-._-._-._-._

Raven ran with Rumblestar and the ThunderClan warriors she had selected to go fight the Tunnelers. Rumblestar moved over until she was right next to Raven.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" The cat didn't say the words, she breathed them, and looked at him with serious eyes.

Raven saw the significance in her look and gave the barest nod of his head. He and the ThunderClan leader fell back behind the rest of the group until it was just them. They stopped.

Raven waited a moment for the other cat to speak. The wind blew the she-cat's long fur to one side dramatically and whispered into her ears. Caught up in the sight of it, it took a while for Raven to realize Rumblestar still hadn't spoken.

"Rumblestar, what's–"

There was a flash of fur and Raven stopped talking, though he didn't know why. Rumblestar was just sitting there looking at him, head cocked to the side. Confused, Raven looked down at himself.

Scarlet coated his fur. Where had it come from?

Then Raven felt the pain. He collapsed onto the mossy grass and howled weakly. Rumblestar approached him fearlessly and sniffed his wound with a satisfactory nod. She said not a word.

Raven tried to shout, attack her, but blood was draining fast. How had it happened? Why did it happen? His head rested uncomfortably on a rock, but it would take too much energy to move it.

The group of ThunderClan cats rushed back having heard Raven's first howl. They looked with shocked faces between Rumblestar and a dying Raven.

"Rumblestar?" asked one.

"I had no choice; he attacked me. This was probably all just a ruse to try to kill me, or at least take one of my lives. I'll even bet that the whole story with the Tunnelers and the death of the mountains cats was part of it, too. Maybe he even killed Oaktail, to get us to come out here, looking for one of these imaginary tunnels of the Tunnelers. Didn't you, filth?" Rumblestar kicked Raven ferociously.

One of the ThunderClan cats hissed at Raven. Another growled. He guessed that some would even have attacked if he wasn't already on the verge of death.

"And I thought he was heroic," murmured a young warrior with large, violet eyes. "But it was all a lie."

Rumblestar sighed. "We should head back to camp, then. No use running after these so-called 'Tunnelers' if it was just a figment of this awful cat's imagination."

The cats grumbled and snarled at Raven as they passed to head back to their home.

Raven wanted to scream. _I didn't do it! It's a lie!_ But they all had left. Except Rumblestar.

When it was just those two left, Rumblestar's expression turned from feigned anger to satisfaction. She stepped closer to Raven's weak body and pressed her mouth next to his ear.

"Long live the Tunnelers," she whispered. Chills crept down Raven's spine as the cat padded away on silent paws.


End file.
